Ripped and Torn
by Sephirothxx
Summary: A 16 year old girl is ripped away from the life she loves and sent to Spira to aid Yuna along her pillgramage. Wil she be able to overcome an untaimed power that has been lurking within her from birth or will it cause her to destroy her freinds?
1. Torn From a World She Loved

Ripped and Torn

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FFX characters or places except the ones I make up.

Chapter One: Torn From a World She Loved

A young girl of sixteen fluttered her turquoise eyes open with the warm, calm breeze slipping in through the open window on the west side of the room. She slid the sheets down off of her sleep wracked body and swung her legs over the side of the bed and onto the shag rug. She stood upon her feet and stretched her arms into the sky as another soothing breeze wafted through the window. After stretching, the teen girl walked over to a single door closet and grasped a soft, white towel. She then continued to stroll over to the door to her bathroom to get a relaxing shower.

Her hand gripped the hot water knob and twisted it on half way. The warm water cascaded down her body and through her blonde hair sending a slight tingle throughout her entire being. After washing up, she stood under the temperate spray just unwinding and thinking about nothing in particular. She drew back the show curtain and stepped out onto a well placed floor rug as she wrapped the towel she acquired earlier around her upper body and took another towel and wrapped up her golden hair.

She strode out of her bathroom and unraveled the towel from her blonde hair and dried the golden locks. She went over to her dresser and pulled out a green T-shirt and blue jeans, along with an orange sweatshirt with black sleeves. She dropped her towel and began to slip on her clothes. She glanced over to her alarm clock resting on the mahogany side table next to her bed. 'Oh! It's seven o'clock already. Better get down to the kitchen and get some breakfast.' She hurried over to the door and twisted the knob and hastily ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning sweetie." Her mom greeted the sixteen year old from her relaxed position in the chair at the head of the breakfast table.

"Morning mom." The young girl went over to a cabinet and opened the door to pull out a loaf of bread. She untied the twist tie on the end of the bag and pulled out two slices of the white bread. She placed the two slices of bread into the toaster and slid the knob down.

A few moments later the toast popped out of the toaster. She took them out and laid them out on the counter. She got a knife out of the top drawer to her left and whipped out some butter. She spread the butter on the pieces of toast and ate them. As soon as she stuck the last bite into her mouth the doorbell rang. She swung the door wide open to see one of her friends standing there to walk with her to school.

"Hi Rachel!" The girl greeted her friend on the porch.

"Hey Lauren!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Hold on one minute Rachel. I gotta get my school stuff together." Lauren rushed off into the living room to retrieve her backpack. A moment later she emerged from the living room with her backpack draped over her shoulders. "See ya mom!" she called back into the kitchen.

"Have a good day at school dear!" Lauren and Rachel hurried out the door and off onto the sidewalk.

Their walk to school wasn't a long one, maybe only ten minutes tops. They chatted about random things and then began to talk about their school classes. "What did you think about our Bio homework last night?" Rachel wondered how her friend did on the extensive homework.

Lauren let out a large sigh as her shoulders slouched. "That was a pain in butt! I was stuck on number three for like an hour!" She expressed her dislike of biology by shouting. "How did you do on it?"

"Wow! It took you that long?" Rachel inquired with a very surprised look on her face. "It took me all but ten minutes." She boasted.

"You were always better at stuff like that than me." The two friends laughed as they continued on their way to school.

School was the same as any other day. Lauren started her day off in Geometry and then moved onto her next class, Biology. Then there was lunch where she and her friends ate their lunches with chit chat spread throughout lunch. Her next two classes were English and Introduction to Business. Those classes passed over well and soon enough the school day was over.

After school, Lauren, Rachel and two other of their friends went over to Rachel's house to just hang out. They stayed there till about five thirty and then they all separated and went home for dinner. Lauren waved good bye to her friends and walked in the direction of her home as a chill wind washed over the land. The street lights were beginning to flicker to life as the sky became painted with streaks of orange and pink.

Lauren ambled down the sidewalk and was no more than three minutes away from her house when a car came down the road. The car was careening down the evening road towards her. It was swerved uncontrollably from side to side, nearly slamming into a tree. The car continued down the road toward her as it suddenly veered off onto the side walk where she was walking. She endeavored to leap out of the way but it was all in vain. The car smashed into her, flinging her over the hood and up over the windshield and off the top. The car did a hit and run and hastily careened down the road out of sight. She lay in tremendous pain for two minutes before her eyes grew too heavy to keep open.

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When Lauren finally awoke after being run down by the swerving car she was surrounded in a pitch black void. White and blue mist began to flood into the black void with what appeared to be ice crystals glistening in an unseen light. A shadow enveloped figure floated towards her ever so slowly. It came to rest only a few feet from her just hovering in the void not doing a thing. "Who are you?" She asked the figure.

"That is not important at this moment. What is important is why I summoned you here." The figure retorted.

Lauren gazed at the figure intensely trying to make out any features at all to tell what or who the figure could be. "What are you talking about?" Her face was pale and had confusion written all over it.

The floating figure seemed to smile. "I have summoned you here to send you to someone that needs your help. It is your destiny." The figure replied with an icy voice.

Lauren's face became red with anger. "What destiny? I don't care about my destiny I just want to go home! I have a good life with friends and family members that love me! I don't want to leave!" She hollered at the top of her lungs but it didn't seem to affect the figure at all.

"If I send you back now you will be dead." Lauren stopped yelling at the figure at hearing those words. "We will need some time to bring you back to life. In the meantime you should go and fulfill your destiny." The figure explained it self.

"What is my destiny that you keep talking about?" Lauren queried the figure.

"You have a great power within you, one that can make or break a world. You must go with the summoner and protect her along her pilgrimage to save a world from destruction." Lauren seemed lost in the figures words.

"But how can I protect someone that I don't even know where they are? And where did this power that you say is within me come from?" Lauren argued.

"We will send you to this summoner. And the power that lies within you has been with you since your birth. You were destined to protect the summoner along her pilgrimage to destroy evil once and for all." The figured elaborated the answers to Lauren's questions.

"Who are these 'we' you're talking about?" Lauren queried the figure.

"The other fayth and my self."

"What are fayth?" The figure smiled from Lauren's question.

"You will find out soon enough." The figure responded. "But for now, what will you do? Will you go and fulfill your destiny or do you wish me to send you back and be dead?"

"What kind of question is that?" She shouted at the figure. "You give me the choice of life or death and think that you do not know what my answer will be! Of course I'll go and fulfill my destiny if I can go back to my old life once this is over!"

"I will send you back in the end...if you reach it." The figure started to fade into the pitch black void.

"Wait! What do you mean if I reach the end?" Lauren tried to take hold of the figure but her attempt was futile. The figure soon disappeared leaving Lauren alone. The black void began to glow with a pallid light causing her to shield her eyes. As the light grew brighter and brighter she felt her eyes grow to heavy to keep open and fell into unconsciousness.



Lauren's eyes flickered open to a scene of a huge stadium looking building that was now in ruins. Water was flowing out of the main entrance to the ruined building and was touching the tips of her chilled fingers. She shifted her gaze to the left and saw two figures. One was a blonde haired young man with a yellow hooded vest like garment with black pants that had a flame orange 'J' imprinted on the right pant leg. The other figure had black hair with streaks of white in the front and on the sides. He had on a red coat with a whiskey like jug lashed to his waist and sun glasses resting upon his face.

Lauren got up onto her feet while rubbing her eyes with her right thumb and index finger. "Where…where am I?" She stumbled to the left a bit before regaining her footing. "And who are you two?" She asked the two men standing a few feet away from her.

"I'm Tidus and this is Auron." The young man answered while gesturing to his friend. "What is your name?" Tidus inquired to Lauren.

"My name's Lauren." Her gaze shot up into the sky and saw a gigantic ball of water levitating in the air with an equally gigantic brownish blur in the center. "What is that?" She screamed.

"We called it "sin" Auron stated bluntly.

Lauren and Tidus stared blankly at each other and then at Auron. "Sin?" They questioned in unison.

A torpedo looking object with tentacles jutting out from the back collided into the side of a building to the left of the road the three were on. Scale like things released themselves off of the torpedo like object and plunged down into the road. The scales unfolded into what looked like a cross between a fish and an insect with wings.

"Take it!" Auron said, tossing a sword over to Tidus. "You." He gestures to Lauren. "Do you know how to use a sword?" He asked the sixteen year old girl.

"No way!" Lauren denied the ability to wield a sword.

Auron then pushed away the left side of his jacket to reveal a katana hanging from his belt. He unsheathed the blade as five of the fish insects rushed towards the group. "Well, it's time you learn." He then tosses it to Lauren, which she catches incredibly skillfully. 'So, this is the one.' He thought while the enemies bore down upon them.

Auron produced his own blade which he rested on his shoulder. He shifted his weight onto his left foot while following through with a downward blade stroke through the flesh of one of the advancing enemies. It was severed clean in half, spilling no blood, but releasing multicolored orbs into the air as its body disintegrated. "What are those colored things?" Lauren was awestruck at the sight of the pyreflies.

"Pyreflies." Auron calmly declared.

A sinscale leapt into the air at Lauren. She lunged her katana at the torso of the oncoming sinscale as it hurtled through the air at her. The katana dug into the fiend's flesh and burst out through its back, shedding no blood much to Lauren's surprise. The thing lay limp on the katana blade for a moment before bursting into pyreflies. "No sword skills huh?" Tidus asked jokingly.

"I don't know what that was. It was like instinct or something." Lauren replied to the blitz ace's joking question.

"No time for chit chat." Auron cut through another of the sinscales, starting to a running pace. "These ones don't matter. We cut through!" Lauren and Tidus followed Auron's command.

They continued down the paved road, cutting down sinscales along the way. Tidus stopped to fend off a small cluster of the sinscales as they surrounded him, impeding his march. Auron decapitated a sinscale with his massive sword and yelled another command at Tidus. "Don't bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that matter, and run!" The blitz ace spun around, his sword flashing into the flesh of each of his surrounding opponents or caused them to leap back to avoid being gutted.

The three of them ran down the paved, suspended road, only cutting down the sinscales that stood in their direct path. Another of the torpedo like things plummeted down into the road in front of them. Lauren freaked out and leapt back at the sudden collision in front of her. The scales on its sides freed themselves from their carrier and fell down to form a skirmish line in front of it. "How many of these are there?" Lauren muttered under her breath. Auron took up the front of the charge against the sinscales with a running velocity. He leapt into the air as he neared the enemies. He fell back down to the road a few seconds later, his sword sliding easily through the concrete road. The road beneath each of the sinscales sent a blast of energy at them. The sinscales were blown away by Auron's attack and soon ruptured into pyreflies.

Tidus charged froth but as he got close to the torpedo like thing it sprouted more scales upon the road. He leapt back as the scales dug into the road, each one getting closer and closer to him, forcing him back. After the thing released the second wave of scales Tidus countered them with an all out charge. "Spiral cut!" He jumped into the air and spun around a few times before crashing back to earth with a devastating blow to the torpedo like thing.

Tidus' attack only made the thing shed more of the scales onto its surroundings. Three of the sinscales landed in front of Lauren and unfolded. She took up her katana and attempted to cleave one of the scales in half. The sinscale sidestepped her blow and just stood there staring at her. Its small wings began to glitter with a blue and purple radiance and started to make a shaking sound. Auron shot a look over to Lauren and saw the sinscale charging up its attack. "Move!" He commanded to the young girl. She obeyed and did a front roll to the side just as the sinscale released a barrage of small spikes from within the depths of its wings.

Auron proceeded over to Lauren after the sinscale unleashed its wave of spikes. He came from behind it and cleaved it in two on a downward diagonal slash that dug into the concrete road. The other two sinscales in the area pounced upon the skillful warrior and toppled him over. He quickly knocked them off of himself and rose to his feet. Both of the sinscales' wings began to glow with the same blue and purple radiance when the other launched the spikes as Lauren. Auron realized that he could not evade the barrages of spikes that was about to come and braced himself.

He was surprised to see Lauren standing behind the scale on the left with her katana blade rammed through its chest. The other sinscale turned its focus on her as she withdrew her blade from its deceased ally. Its wings began to make the shaking sound that indicated an attack but turning its back to Auron was a big mistake. He brought his massive sword upon the scale in a right to left horizontal motion, separating the scale's body in two.

Tidus was off fighting the torpedo like thing, while also cutting down any of the sinscales that dropped free from it. He impaled the thing with the red hooked sword Auron had given him and ripped upwards. The thing convulsed and waved its tentacles wildly around in the air. He then brought his blade around his head and sliced it deep with a left to right horizontal slash, severing the thing in half. It plopped to the ground and convulsed for a moment before beginning to leak into pyreflies.

"Auron! Let's get out of here!" Tidus shouted seeing a batch of sinscales charging up the road.

"We're expected." Auron moves on in leisurely walk.

"Huh?" Tidus and Lauren both question, taking off after Auron.

The three of them move on down the road till a group of seemingly never ending sinscales bar their path. The group of scales that had taken up chase after them were soon upon them. They cut their way through the tides of sinscales, but there were just too many of them. Auron looked off to the right side of the road and spotted a tanker like thing hanging over the side of the road. "That-knock it down!" He points the tanker out to Tidus.

Tidus rushed over to the tanker, mowing down several sinscales in his way, while his friends battled the remainder of the scales. He took his first swing at the tanker, loosening the bond between the two parts of the tanker. A sinscale popped up behind him, wings glowing for an attack, and fired a bombardment of spikes. Tidus ducked under the wave of spikes allowing them to smash into the tanker. He spun around and took out the scale and followed through with a stroke to smash the tanker.

The bond between the two parts of the tanker broke free from one another, sending the piece hanging over the edge completely over. There was a deafening explosion as it struck the ground beneath them, ripping up the road as it ascended into the sky. "Go!" Auron hollered over the sound of the road being snapped and ripped a sunder. Lauren followed closely behind Auron but Tidus wasn't that lucky. He leapt off a piece of the road as it plummeted to the ground and barely grasped the edge of the road where Auron and Lauren stood.

"Auron! Auron!" Tidus yelled out as Sin hovered overhead, sucking in all the debris from the road along with the three of them.

Auron takes a look back at Sin. "You are sure?" He shifts his gazed back to Tidus, who is desperately clawing at the edge of the road trying to get a grip, and lifts him up by his shirt. "This is it. This is your story. It all begins here." Lauren watches in horror as Auron, Tidus and herself are sucked into the opening beneath Sin. The entire scene changes from the chaotic ruins of Zanarkand to pure nothingness right before her eyes.

A/N: Well there's chap one. Hope it wasn't too generic for ya. Anyway tell me what you think of it and if I should continue with it or not. And don't forget to review.


	2. Quiet Island, Little Trinket

Chapter 2: Quite Island, Little Trinket

**dark dragon knight1993-** Thx for your review! I hope I can keep pumping out more good chaps. Here's chapter two for ya.

**Jaina-Fel**- I'm glad u like it! Here's chap 2!

**cutelittlekitten18**- She will find romance somewhere in the story...don't know when though. Hope you like chapter 2!

A/N: I have another story, "The Shattered Calm" it's an FFX-2 fic.

Lauren felt consciousness flooding back into her into her body. She took in her surroundings with the only sense she had available at the time, her ears. Seagulls called overhead on a mild wind that rustled through the leaves of some kind of trees. The sound of waves lapping up on a beach and smashing into a cliff face took over all other noise. She heard and felt some wild splashing near her as her eyes finally returned to her. "Rikku!" A familiar voice called out. She shot her eyes open and found them underwater. The salt stung at her eyes causing her to pull violently out of the water.

Once her vision returned to her, Lauren glanced to where the voice called out from to see Tidus get struck in the head with a bumpy blue and white ball. A voice hollered over the noise of seagull calls and waves crashing on the beach. "Hey! You okay?" Tidus and Lauren hastily shifted their gaze to see an orange haired guy in a yellow overall like garment standing on the beach.

"Heeey!" Tidus shouted to the orange haired man, which now had a group of five others in the same yellow overalls. Tidus dove under water under the blue and white ball. He did a slow paced back flip in the water and smacked the ball with his left leg, sending the ball out over the ocean.

The orange haired guy shielded his eyes from the sun and watched the ball go out of sight. "Whoa-ho!" He smirked and glanced back to the five others behind him.

Tidus swam over to the beach and walked up to the six guys, Lauren following hastily behind him. "Yo! Hiya!" He greeted the six men.

"You wanna try that move one more time?" The orange haired man queried. He tossed another ball at Tidus as he headed back into the water. He copied the technique he had done earlier. "You're no amateur. Who you play for?"

"The Zanarkand Abes!" Tidus answered.

The group of same dressed men glanced at each other with a confused look painted on each of their faces. "What team you say again?"

"Uh, I meant... Forget that. I got too, uh...close to Sin and my head's all foggy-like. So I don't know where this place is. Or even where I came from." Tidus fumbled around with his words trying to get the heat off him.

"Hey! I remember where we came from!" Lauren piped in through the chatter of Tidus and orange haired man. "It was that huge city where I met you and Auron."

Tidus nudged Lauren in the side. "Hey, I meet this girl, Rikku and she said that the place we were at was destroyed a thousand years ago. We don't want to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves"

"What you say?"

"Never mind that. She…I mean we got to close to Sin like I said." Tidus diverted the man's attention.

"Sin's toxin must have gotten to you. But, you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon!" The orange haired man said doing a weird gesture. "I'm Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda. And your names are?"

"My name's Lauren." She said, outstretching a friendly hand. Wakka took her friendly hand and shook it.

"And mine's Tidus!" He exclaimed while also shaking Wakka's hand.

Both Lauren's and Tidus' stomachs begin to growl. "What? You hungry? Okay! Back to the village. I'll get you somethin'!" And with that Wakka began strolling down a road that was cut through two sand dunes.

Tidus shouts to the orange haired blitzer, causing him to while around. "It's true Zanarkand was destroyed, right? A thousand years ago? So it's just a big pile of rubble now, isn't it?"

Wakka looks at Tidus funny before answering. "Long time ago, there were a whole lot of cities in Spira. Big cities with machina-machines-to run 'em. People played all day and let the machina do the work. And then, well, take a look." He gestured to some old ruins dotting the beach. "Sin came, and destroyed the machina cities. And Zanarkand along with 'em. Yeah, that was about a thousand years ago, just like you said. If you asked me, Sin's our punishment for letting things get out of hand. What gets me, though...is we gotta suffer, 'cause of what some goofballs did way back when! 'Course, we must always repent for our sins! That's important! It's just that, it's hard to keep at it sometimes, you know"

Tidus looked like he was deep in thought. Starting to laugh, Wakka places his arm on Tidus' shoulder. "But you from the Zanarkand Abes-that was a good one! Hey, I'm not saying the team never existed, ya? But you gotta figure a team livin' in luxury like that'd be pretty soft, eh?" He said, trying to cheer Tidus up.

They then continued strolling up the path and around a bend in the road near a bunch of ruins imbedded in the cliff face. Tidus stopped there, at those ruins, and became emerged in thought again as Lauren and Wakka continued on till they came to a cliff edge. "Hey! This way!" Wakka shouted, shaking Tidus out of his pondering.

Tidus runs up and looks over the edge of the cliff and sees nothing but crystal clear water. "Huh?" he felt a hand thrust into his back, pushing him over the edge and into the water. "What's the big idea?" He shouted as Wakka leapt into the water next to him followed soon by Lauren.

"Hey, it's just a little fun Tidus! Loosen up will ya?" Lauren giggled as Tidus splashed her and swam off slowly.

The water of the lagoon was so mild and soothing that if she went on her back and closed her eyes, Lauren would have fallen asleep. Not a word was uttered form any of the three as they went on swimming through the lagoon back to the village Wakka spoke of. At one point Tidus went down to the floor of the lagoon and found a treasure chest with some kind of item in it. As they drew closer to the end of the lagoon Wakka put Tidus into a headlock.

"Lemme go!" He shouted through his flailing.

"I got a favor to ask ya." Wakka stated frankly.

"You want me on your team, right?" Tidus queried. Wakka let him slip out of his headlock and down into the water.

"A major blitz tournament's coming up. All the teams in Spira'll be there! It's so huge, I'm sure someone there will recognize you! Then you can go back to your old team, right? It'll be fun! What do you say, huh? Come on, come on!" Wakka pleaded Tidus to join his team.

"Sure thing." Tidus went on his back and kicked away from the orange haired blitzer.

After another few minutes of swimming, they came to a beach and landed. Tidus and Wakka continued to talk about Blitzball, leaving Lauren to think by herself. 'Where is this summoner they sent me to protect? They said they would send me directly to her.' She stopped at the summit of the hill where a whole village was visible.

"What's that?" Lauren questioned gazing down upon the village that had a huge, blue building near the back of it.

"Besaid village." Wakka presented. "This is where I was born."

"It looks so nice and peaceful." Lauren pointed out the serenity of Besaid village.

"Yeah…" Wakka turns away from the hill top and towards a path leading down to the village. "Come on, this way."

The three of them strode down the path leading to Besaid village for about three minutes before they ran into two men. One of them had short red hair and the other had very short back hair "Ah, the ones from the see." The red haired one said.

"Be on guard. There're fiends on the road today!" The one with the very short black hair warned the three companions.

"After surviving your run-in with Sin, 'twould be a shame if something happened now." The first one said before walking off back to the village.

"What's his problem?" Lauren asked Wakka. "It sounds like he doesn't want us here." She said with annoyance floating on her voice.

"Don't worry about it. He didn't mean it that way." Wakka tried to clear the name of the man.

"Who where they anyway?" Tidus inquired, breaking the conversation between Wakka and Lauren.

"Luzzu, the orange haired one, and Gatta." Wakka retorted. "They're crusaders."

"Crews of what?" Tidus was utterly confused and had not one clue as to what Wakka was talking about.

"You can ask them yourself, they have a lodge in the village." Wakka said as he motioned for them to start hiking to the village again.

A few minutes of walking brought them upon a few coyote like things attacking a helpless villager. Wakka took up his blitzball and hurled it through the air at the fiends attacking the villager. It hit one of the fiends on the head, drawing its attention along with its five other pack members to Wakka, Lauren, and Tidus rather than the villager. Tidus and Lauren drew out their swords and prepared for the coyote like fiends' charge. Wakka sent his blitzball soaring through the air, smashing into one of the charging fiend's head sending it rolling backwards on the dusty trail.

One of the fiends leapt into the air at Lauren but she sidestepped the fiend's aerial attack. After evading the attack, she brought down her katana blade onto the back of the fiend as it landed next to her. It let out a howl of pain as the blade sank deep into its flesh, almost severing it in half. Another one of the fiends charged her as the first coyote like fiend burst into pyreflies. It snapped its powerful jaws down upon her left leg, sending crimson blood dripping to the ground. Her shrill scream of anguish broke the tranquility of her surroundings.

Tidus plunged his sword down an oncoming fiend's throat. It gagged on the blade, spitting up blood. He removed the blade from the coyote fiend's throat by ripping his blade upwards into the sky. It burst into pyreflies allowing Tidus to run off and help Lauren fend off her attacker.

Tidus went and smashed the coyote fiend that was latched onto Lauren's left leg with the side of his blade. It yelped and released its tight hold on Lauren's leg. She fell back from the fiend to address her wound while Tidus pushed the fiend back. The wound wasn't too severe, only about a centimeter deep puncture where all the teeth fell. Tidus whirled around, letting something fly back at Lauren. She gazed at the object oddly. "It's a potion!" Tidus hollered back through his fight with the fiend. "Drink it! It will heal your wound!"

Lauren popped the cork and gulped down the surprisingly sweet tasting liquid. She felt the liquid flow down her esophagus and then spreading throughout her entire being. It sent a warm, tingling feeling coursing through her veins, instantly healing up the wound on her leg. After the potion had taken affect, she stood up and hopped on her previously wounded leg. Amazingly she didn't suffer any pain. She glanced back to where Tidus was before she swallowed the potion to see him finish off the fiend by crushing it into a tree trunk with the blunt side of his blade.

Wakka had long ago finished off the second fiend that attacked him and was waiting for Tidus and Lauren to catch up. "You guys were pretty good back there, ya?" Lauren and Tidus smiled back at the blitzer.

"Yeah, we've had some practice." Lauren declared looking over to Tidus.

The villager hurried up to where the three companions were standing. "Thank you!" He bowed. "Here, here. Take this." He handed a small trinket over to Lauren. The item was black, smooth to the touch and rounded at the edges. A golden necklace dangled off of what appeared to be the top and through Lauren's fingers.

"What's this?" She queried still examining the trinket.

"I'm not totally sure but legend has it that it can activate an unimaginable power …that is if you can find out how it works. No one has ever been able to activate its powers but people keep trying to figure its secrets out." The man said.

"But if it doesn't work then why are you giving it to us?" Tidus inquired.

"You seem like smart, strong people. I have faith that you will get somewhere on the path to unlocking its powers." The man pushed past the three friends and strode up the hill.

"Wait!" Lauren yelled at the man but he was already around a bend and out of earshot. "I guess we'll just keep it for now." She slipped it into a pocket on her jeans.

The man walked along until he came to a wooden bridge with a waterfall cascading behind it against the cliff face. 'They have taken the bait master.' He spoke in his mind to an unknown force.

An eerily soft and slithering voice rang through the man's head. 'Good. All is going according to plan. Good work. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for the right time.' The voice cut off and the man did some bizarre gestures and then disappeared into thin air.

The three friends stopped under an archway that used fro the entrance to Besaid village. "Well, here we are." Wakka announced displaying the village.

Lauren's and Tidus' stomachs growled again. "I see you two are still hungry. We'll get you something over there later." Wakka gestured to a small hut that looked exactly like the rest. "Take a look around first. Let's see... The Crusaders Lodge is over yonder." He pointed to a larger hut. "Luzzu and Gatta are usually there. Oh, right. Over here!" He waved them over behind the wall connected to the archway.

"Huh? What's up?" Tidus questioned as they walled behind the wall, out of sight from everyone in the village.

"You remember the prayer, right?" Tidus and Lauren both looked at the orange haired blitzer in confusion. "You...must have forgot or something. Here, I'll show" He preformed the odd movements that he had done earlier on the beach. "Go ahead, you try." Tidus and Lauren both execute the prayer, although it was a little sloppy.

"Hey, not bad." Wakka congratulated them on a job well done. "Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner." He showed them the temple before he walked off.

Tidus went right off to the crusaders' hut but Lauren wandered around the village a bit. The random villagers scattered throughout the town gawked in wonder at Lauren and whispered amongst each other. She just disregarded them and continued on her way around the village. She finally got tired of waking around aimlessly and getting gossiped about and went to join Tidus in the crusaders' hut.

She spread the door curtains and stepped inside in the middle of a conversation between Tidus and the crusaders. "The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero Mi'ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the Crimson Blades. Later, our ranks grew and we called ourselves the Crusaders. We've been fighting Sin ever since!" Gatta explained the history as well as the purpose of the crusaders.

"You've been fighting it that long and you still haven't beaten it?" Lauren stepped into the conversation.

"Well, we've steered Sin away from towns many times! And that's all we can do. Nobody's ever been able to defeat it. Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns, villages, and people of Spira." Luzzu retorted.

"So then whose job is it to defeat Sin?" Tidus inquired.

"Is Sin's toxin really this bad, sir?" Gatta turned to question his friend.

"It does seem rather bad..." Luzzu trailed off and the started back up again. "We could just tell you, but I think it's better for you to try and remember. Go pray at the temple. Perhaps Yevon will help you regain your memory." He offered.

"Will do!" Tidus exclaimed before striding out of the hut, Lauren followed him closely.

"So Tidus…" He looks over to her. "What do you think a summoner is?"

"No idea!" He admitted. "But I bet we'll find out when we go to the temple." Lauren nodded and they continued on into the temple.

The temple was a large dome with different levels of stands wrapping along the outside walls with random statues on them. Directly from the entrance was a large stair case with statues acting as sentinels on either side. Right behind each of the massive statues were doors that led into separate rooms with random trinkets and other assorted items. There were a few people standing in front of a few of the statues along the outer walls, praying. There was a priest like man dressed in robes standing in front of the massive statue to the right of the stair case. Lauren and Tidus stared at the statue in wide wonder.

"Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became high summoner. And finally we receive a statue for our temple." The priest explained.

"What's a high summoner?" Lauren queried, taking the words right out of Tidus' mouth.

The priest gave her a queerer look as if she was crazy or something. "We…we got to close to Sin's, uh, toxin." Tidus made the same excuse over again.

The priest's and several others' eyes widened at the word 'Sin'. "Praise be to Yevon you are still alive." He preformed the prayer. "The summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few become summoners, who call forth entities of great power: the aeons. The aeons hear our prayers and come down to us. They are the blessing of Yevon." Lauren and Tidus nodded despite their utter confusion and walked away from the priest.

"We found out a little bit but I'm still confused." Lauren whispered to Tidus as the walked over to one of the statues lining the outer wall.

"Yeah, me too." They stopped in front of the statue. "Guess we should try praying." They both preformed the prayer and the left the temple.

The two of them strolled out of the temple, down the stairs, and off to the hut that Wakka had previously pointed out. Lauren drew the door curtain aside and saw Wakka standing with his back faced to the door. He heard the two come in and pivoted on his heel to greet them. "Sorry, no time for lunch yet. Take a nap! You two look bushed." He apologized for the lack of time to eat.

"No problem. And thanks for everything Wakka." Lauren thanked her newly acquired friend.

"Yeah, Thanks Wakka." Tidus joined in.

"Have a good nap you two." He said, leaving the hut to just Lauren and Tidus. They both found respective couches/beds and laid down to rest.

Lauren awoke after about an hour or so of sleeping to an empty hut, except for the sleeping Tidus. She stretched the weariness out of her arms and legs and got a crick out of her neck. She waltzed over to the sleeping Tidus and whispered his name. He awoke with a start, shooting up into t a sitting position with a worried look on his face. "Calm down Tidus! It's just me!" Lauren reassured him.

"Where's Wakka?" He got out of bed and examined the empty hut.

"Dunno. Maybe at the temple?" Tidus nodded and they headed for the temple.

They find Wakka standing just below the stairs that led up to a door. "Is something wrong?" Tidus pondered.

"The summoner hasn't returned from the trial. Well, apprentice summoner, really..." Wakka said getting confused looks from both Lauren and Tidus. "There's a room in there called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, remember?" Tidus shook his head.

"A day's already gone by." Wakka seemed worried.

"Is it particularly dangerous in there?" Lauren asked out of curiosity.

"Sometimes, yes." Lauren and Tidus circled around Wakka.

"Why don't you go in and help?" Lauren asked the troubled blitzer.

"There's already guardians in there. Besides, it's forbidden." Wakka said in an attempt to stop what was going to happen next.

Tidus pushes past Wakka and the guard standing there. "Hey, but what if somethin' happens? What if the summoner dies?" He shouts at the top of the stairs. A priest yells at him about some precepts must be obeyed or something. "Like I care!" He hollered, turning around and bolting through the door.

"Wait up Tidus!" Lauren took off after him, not heeding to any of the augments made by Wakka, the priest or the guard. She tore open the door and ran up to Tidus, who was examining a glyph on the wall. He reached out and touched it. It glowed and shimmered before disappearing and then reappearing on the wall to the right. Lauren reached out and touched this one, it slid up a section of the wall allowing her and Tidus to go down a ramp.

Once down the ramp they came to a green colored sphere in a pedestal set upon a recess in the wall. Lauren picked up the sphere and gazed at it questioningly. "What do we do with this?" Tidus walked down another ramp and found a door with a sphere shaped slot resting in the middle of two doors. Lauren ran down to meet up with him and placed the sphere into the outlet. The door swung open revealing another hallway.

The two went down the hallway and rounded the corner to see an empty slot in the wall. They continued on past it and rounded another corner. There was a pedestal to their left with empty slots and a glowing glyph on the wall to their right. Tidus rested his hand on the glyph and it glowed. The section of the wall slid up to show a bunch of blue colored lines running along the wall, all meeting up to a blue sphere in the middle of the back wall. Lauren went up to the sphere and yanked it out of its slot. The lit up lines faded into blackness. She then took it over to the pedestal and placed it gently into one of the slots on it and then pushed it onto a shining tile.

A lift appeared as so did Wakka. "Hey! What's gotten into you two? Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their guardians can enter here. It's a tradition. Very important." Wakka scolded Tidus and Lauren.

"So what about you? What are you doing in here Wakka?" Lauren retorted to Wakka's scolding.

"Me? I'm a guardian!" He boasted. "Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira. Guardians protect them." He explained the role of a guardian even though the question was not posed. "The guardians in there now... One of them's got a short fuse, and who knows what the other's thinking. Well, now that we've come this far...might as well go all the way!"

The lift lurched and began its descent into what was know as the Chamber of the Fayth. In the room outside the chamber stood a woman clad in all black garments and a tall blue furred equivalent of a lion, only it was standing upright on its hind legs. "What are you doing here? Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?" The woman in the black dress snapped.

"No Lulu, it's uh...it's just..." Wakka stumbled on his words and then turned to Tidus and Lauren. "See, I told you she gets mad easy."

"Is the summoner alright?" Lauren and Tidus inquired in unison.

"Who are you two?" Just then a door in the back of the room opened. A young woman stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame for support, sweat dripping down her face. She had two colored eyes, the left one blue and the right green. She was dressed in a white robe like thing and then a dark blue long skirt with flowers on it. She took a step forward but her knees buckled, sending her down the stairs placed below the door. Luckily, the big blue lion guy was there to catch her and prop her upright.

"I've done it. I have become a summoner!" The girl declared through her huffs and puffs. They leave the temple and walk outside where a throng of excited villagers awaited the return of their summoner.

The summoner walked into the middle of a huge yellow, brown circle in the center of town, enthusiastic villagers all around. "Hey, over here!" Wakka grabs Tidus and Lauren by the arm and drags them up front with him. "Wait till you see this!"

"I can't see anything!" Tidus complained. Wakka released his grip on both him and Lauren.

"Ready!" Wakka stated to the summoner.

"Okay!" And with that she did some strange dancing that made a glyph appear in the sky. The next thing that could be seen was a large object with a white smoke tail streaking through the sky. The thing broke through the glyph and opened its wings to reveal a giant bird with blue feathers running up it long neck. The thing landed next to the summoner and she ruffled it feathers. The throng of surrounding villagers applauded for the summoner and tightened their circle around her. She soon dismissed the aeon and it soon became night.

Wakka ensnared Tidus by putting his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in to meet the rest of the team. Lauren walked around the village, by herself, still receiving puzzled looks from a lot of the villagers. She soon spotted the young summoner and went over to introduce herself.

"Hi. My name's Lauren what's yours?" She outstretched a friendly hand to shake the young summoner's.

The summoner took her hand and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you Lauren. I'm Yuna." The two girls sat down around a small fire.

"You're clothes are like nothing I've ever seen before." Yuna examined Lauren's sweatshirt and blue jeans.

"I'm not from around here."

"Where are you from then?" Yuna cocked her head, a puzzled look painted on her face.

"Chicago." Yuna gave her another odd look. "Uh…I mean…I got too close to Sin's toxin. I can't remember anything really." Lauren fibbed. Of course she knew where she came from but she couldn't tell anyone that, they wouldn't believe her.

"I've heard Sin's toxin can mess up your memory, but to forget all of your memories that must be depressing." The light brown haired summoner said.

"Yeah…"

"So who's that guy you're with? A friend of yours?" Yuna queried.

"He's a friend that I met not too long ago. And then we both ended up on this island." Lauren put her hands in front of the fire to feel the warmth coursing through her body.

"Do you remember where you guys came from to end up on this island?" Yuna snuck a glance back to where Tidus was laughing with Wakka and the rest of the blitzball team.

"Not a single clue." She lied once more.

"Oh…" An elderly couple came out of one of the throngs of villagers and walked up to where Lauren and Yuna sat.

"Leave the summoner be!" The old woman cried out. Lauren got up and shot a glance back at Yuna before heading off for Wakka's hut. It appeared as though Yuna mouthed the words 'sorry' as she retreated from her and the elderly couple.

Before reaching the crusaders' hut, where she was told she could spend the night she gazed back and saw Tidus walk over to where Yuna was sitting with the elderly couple. She could have sworn she heard the couple scold Tidus for what he did earlier but they let him talk to Yuna anyway. Lauren pulled back the door curtain and walked into the hut and said good night to the inn keeper. She plopped down onto the last bed in the inn and took off her shoes. She covered herself with the smooth cloth sheets and closed her eyes for a good night's rest.

Lauren awoke the next morning to Tidus freaking out about something. "Whoa! You're giving this...to me?" She pulled away the door curtain and saw Wakka giving a large, clear blue sword with air bubbles in it to Tidus.

"Yeah, use it well!"

"We're taking the same boat as Yuna, right? Why do we gotta wait here?" Tidus questioned the fact as to why they were just standing in the middle of the village instead of at the docks.

"Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last Calm started." Wakka explained."

"The Calm?" Lauren questioned, finally jumping into the conversation.

"Since then, she's been like a little sister to me and Lulu. But she had the talent... She became an apprentice. Now, today, she leaves as a summoner." Wakka completely ignored Lauren's inquiry.

"This is our journey... We should leave together." Lulu finished off the explanation as Yuna came stumbling out of the temple with a little too many suitcases. "You really don't need all that luggage." Lulu criticized Yuna's judgment.

"They're not really my things. They're gifts for the temples we're to visit." Yuna tried to carry the multitudes of suitcases she held but almost fell face down.

"This isn't a vacation, Yuna." She lowered her head in defeat and left the suitcases lay on the sand for someone to pick up after her. "Okay! Off we go!" Wakka ushered the group out of the village and up the hill right outside the village.

They stopped at the summit of the hill and Yuna looked back down at Besaid village. "Take your time." Lulu comforted Yuna.

"Let's get going, man!" Tidus complained.

"Ease up Tidus. She's going on a long travel and won't be able to come back for a long time so she needs some time to say good bye." Lauren yelled as Tidus.

After some time Wakka turns to Yuna and speaks. "Are you ready?" Yuna nods her head 'yes' and the group of five moved along but stopped at a statue nearby.

Wakka stood in front of the statue for a short while before he did a prayer. Tidus walked over to stand beside him and Lauren went to his other side. "It's an ancient custom. People leaving the island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn't pray that day. Said he'd miss his boat." Wakka's voice was low and sounded very sad at the mention of his dead brother's name.

"Who's Chappu?" Lauren asked, fore she had been asleep when that was explained.

"He was my brother." Wakka told her. "He joined the crusaders and went on to fight Sin. He was killed by Sin in the next operation.

"Oh…I'm sorry Wakka."

"Hey, it's no biggie, ya? Everyone, let's pray!" Wakka did another prayer as did everyone else. "That should do it!" He declared, starting the group back up again.

After walking a short while they came upon some large ruins with moss growing all over them. "Where's that blue guy? Isn't he one of your guardians Yuna?" Lauren asked the young summoner. With that the blue furred lion appeared up on top of one of the ruins and leapt off with a spear head facing down towards Tidus.

Tidus leapt out of the way for the spear. "What's with that guy?" He shouted after almost being skewered.

"Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe. He's learned the fiends' way of fighting." Lulu elaborated Kimahri's reasoning for the abrupt attack.

"That's not what I meant!" Tidus howled.

"Sometimes we don't understand him either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway." Yuna smiled at Kimahri. "But he has protected me since I was a child!" She boasted before the group moved on towards the docks.

Along their way to the docks they encountered a few random fiend battles, which were cut aside easily. When they arrived at the docks there were groups of villagers waiting for Yuna to arrive so they could see her off. The group walked onto the dock and up the plank ramp and onto the ship, the S.S. Liki. The villagers waved goodbye as well as called out as the ship began to pull away from the docks. "Goodbye!" Yuna waved bye to her friends and village mates as the ship pulled out of the docks and onto the ocean.

Lauren and the rest walked around the ship till they found either someone to chat with or found some place to be alone. Yuna was at the front of the ship surrounded by a bunch of passengers. Lauren went up to listen in on the conversations that the passengers were having with Yuna along with each other. "Word is that summoner's got noble blood!" One of the passengers of the S.S. Liki exclaimed.

"I heard she's Lord Braska's daughter!" Another said.

"Ya don't say?"

Lauren found Wakka standing not to far off and went up to him. "So, is Yuna's father famous or something?"

"She's the daughter of High Summoner Braska! You saw his statue at the temple. Lord Braska defeated Sin ten years ago. Yuna's the heir to a great legacy!" Wakka told Lauren of Yuna's father.

"It's tough when your father's famous." Tidus butted into the conversation drawing a confused look from Wakka.

Lulu walked up from out of nowhere to stand beside Wakka. "Wakka's...a bit lacking in the imagination department." She said drawing a laugh from Lauren and Tidus.

"Ha ha. Thanks, Lulu. I'll keep that in mind." Tidus chuckled. The villagers finally cleared away from Yuna, allowing her to get some air. Tidus walked over to chat with her some more. Lauren walked around the S.S. Liki for a while until there came a massive vibration and the ship was tossed around by a few immense waves.

"Sin!" Someone called out from the front of the boat.


	3. Sin Strikes

Chapter 3: Sin Strikes

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Hello and welcome to the fic! I actually don't have any idea of who exactly she will be paired with, but i think i'm gonna put in another new character. Anyway, I hope you like the rest of this fic.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Thx for the review and I'm glad you like it! The identity of the black 'thingy' won't be revealed for a while. I'm glad you reviewed again…I haven't had much luck with people staying loyal to my other fic.

Everyone rushed to the bow of the S.S. Liki to see what was going on. The ship rocked from side to side with another massive strike. Lauren and everyone else aboard the ship were flung off their feet and sent hurtling towards the railing on the starboard side. An enormous light brown fin like entity came jutting out of the crystal clear waters sending yet another barrage of waves at the ship. The passengers onboard the ship were tossed like rag dolls back to the port side from the sudden rush of waves. One of the men near the bow of the ship gained his footing and hurried over to a harpoon gun mounted to the deck.

"What do you think you're doing? Stick a harpoon in him and we'll get dragged under!" Wakka shouted over the sound of crashing waves and terrified screams.

The man cocked his head back towards Wakka and Yuna. "Sin is going for Kilika! We gotta distract it! Our families are in Kilika! Forgive us, Lady Summoner!" Yuna nodded allowing the man to turn back to the harpoon gun, steadying his aim.

The man squeezed the trigger on the harpoon gun mounted on the deck. The harpoon sailed through the air, a small rope trailed after the harpoon as it cut through the air like a knife. The harpoon sunk into the flesh of Sin's fin, patches of its light brown hide chipping off into the water. The pieces of flesh unfolded themselves into their sinscale form in the crystal clear ocean water. The sinscales cut through the water with implausible ease at the boat to feed on the helpless passengers.

The first few sinscales flew out of the water and onto the deck of the ship. Glaring evilly around at the passengers, the sinscales charged one for each of them. Wakka's blitzball zipped through the air and smacked one upside the head right before it swooped onto an unarmed passenger. Tidus cut another one down with his sword flashing into its flesh wildly. Lulu fired off a lightning spell that arched off her dark purple fingernails and into one of the scale's chest. Lauren charged up to a villager who had a sinscale latched onto her chest. She bashed the sinscale's head in with the butt of her sword hilt and brought her sword around to cut its legs off.

A sinscale went unnoticed behind Tidus and its wings began to glow with the familiar blue and purple sparkles and began to shake. Tidus whiled around only to get struck by the vast multitude of spikes ejecting from the scale's wings. The tiny spikes pricked his skin, the momentum of the launched spikes cast Tidus sliding along to deck for a few feet. His skin burned where each of the spines stuck shallowly in his flesh. Forcing himself to move through the pain, Tidus kicked up along the ground after the sinscale. He flashed his blade down on the left side of the scale, slicing off its wing, and brought it back and spun around. He took his blade in a horizontal slash that went into the sinscale's soft torso flesh, severing it in half.

Wakka launched his blitzball at the brownish fin jutting out of the crystal clear water. The ball bounced off the fin's brownish flesh, shedding several scales into the water, and returned back to its keeper. The few scales that plopped off the fin raced towards the boat and then leapt up onto the deck in front of orange haired blitzer. He chucked his blitzball at the sinscale closest to him, dropping it instantly. The ball returned to his hands just in time for him to hurl it at another sinscale before it slashed him. The ball reflected off the sinscale's chest and pushed it back through the air hitting the other and final sinscale off the boat.

Lulu conjured up an orb of red and orange flame right in front of her out stretched right hand. The orb continued to grow in size for a few seconds until she pushed her hand away from her body towards the fin. The orb of flame crashed into the fin with an explosion that could be heard over the roaring of the waves splashing against the ship and the seagulls in the sky. Dozens of the sinscales popped off of the fin and plopped into the crystal clear ocean water below. They cut through the water with the same incredible speed as a hot knife slicing through butter. The deck was soon overloaded with the scales as Lauren, Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri tried to fend them off with their remaining strengths.

Tidus and Kimahri were forced back to back with the overwhelming numbers of sinscales crawling upon the deck. "Kimahri." The Ronso glanced over his shoulder to Tidus. "Hold still and lean forward." He obliged Tidus' request, leaning forward as he swept his spear along the deck.

Tidus pushed himself onto the Ronso's back and did a back flip into the waves of sinscales. As his feet connected with the deck he bent his knees, getting close to the deck, and took his sword in both hands. He twisted his spine it the last preparation for his attack giving the scales the appearance that he was about to leap into the air or something. They hurried to gather around the blitz ace so as to bar him from leaping into the air and escaping, taking his bait. He untwisted his spine and unbent his knees as he raised brotherhood and swung it around in a massive circle. The sinscales broke upon his blade like water on rock as more and more ran in only to fall by his perfectly executed attack.

Yuna was separated from everyone and was desperately trying to fend off the vast waves of sinscales assailing her with her little rod. Lauren had been forced to the bow of the boat and saw Yuna being pinned against the cabin of the ship. She attempted to run to aid the unskilled summoner but was prevented by the extensive amounts of scales. Lulu saw Lauren trying to aid Yuna and conjured up a bolt of lightning which erupted from her fingertips and gouged a line in the sea of scales leading from Lauren to Yuna. Lauren silently nodded her thanks over the sea of sinscales that separated her from Lulu and took off along the gap to aid Yuna.

The summoner was getting the air knocked out of her repeatedly by the sinscales that were tackling her to the ship's cabin. Lauren came in from the side, catching the sinscales off guard, and tackled them away from the battered, young summoner. "Yuna get out of here!" Lauren shouted at the summoner before she got jumped by the scales she had just beaten away. Yuna looked around franticly for some path to take out of harms way, but there was none only more and more scales and the ship's cabin walls.

Lauren fought off the ones that had been assailing Yuna but was soon attacked by yet even more of the sinscales. Yuna seemed to fade out of the scales vision. They only went after Lauren so she took this opportunity to heal her. She raised her staff and pointed it at Lauren, and let out a call. "Heal!" A pallid radiance enveloped Lauren as she cut down another of the seemingly endless numbers of scales. She felt refreshed and as though she could take on any number of sinscales, but she was wrong. A wave of scales rushed her, some sticking to the deck while others leapt through the air. They crashed upon the teen with a force that shattered her balance and sent her sprawling out onto the deck.

Kimahri swept his spear from side to side while wading through the vast numbers of sinscales that were now being thinned. He was attempting to make his way over to Yuna to perform his duties as a guardian but was soon blocked by a rank of scales. He impaled the sinscale in the middle of the line that blocked him and waved it around on the end while smacking around all others around it. A scale stepped to stand diagonally behind Kimahri and started to shake its wings. He threw his spear back at the sinscale, catching it right before the spearhead, ramming it into the scale's head.

Wakka sent his blitzball zipping through the air towards the pile of sinscales atop Lauren. It bounced off one and flew back to its keeper and then was launched again into the flood of scales. Soon after he tossed the first ball the sinscales were all ripped asunder leaving Lauren by herself laying on the deck in pain. Wakka rushed over to where Lauren lay on the deck however he was tripped on the way over. He leapt back onto his feet quickly and swung out his leg and spun around close to the deck. The scales were thrown to the side and rushed over to where a couple sinscales were cheeping up on the incapacitated teen girl.

As he reached Lauren, Wakka tossed his blitzball into a sinscale that was about to kill her. The ball bounced off the one scale and flew into the one standing next to it sending it off the side of the ship deck. Wakka went over and checked Lauren for a heartbeat and found very faint signs of life. "Yuna!" He shouted over to the summoner standing up against the ship cabin wall. "Get over here, she needs healing!" Yuna nodded and rushed over to where Lauren lay. She pointed her staff at her and shouted 'cure' letting the white radiance flood over Lauren's body.

Lauren felt the warm radiance of the cure spell course through her veins and bring life back to all her extremities. She sat upright and placed a hand on her forehead and gazed about. Tidus and Kimahri were finishing off the last of the sinscales and Lulu was off helping some of the passengers that were attacked. She shifter her gaze to where Yuna was standing over her with a look that said 'are you alright?' Lauren nodded drawing a smile from the young summoner.

"Yuna. Try summoning on that fin, ya?" Wakka said causing Yuna to focus her attention on summoning instead of Lauren.

Yuna began her movements to perform the summoning for Valefor. The massive bird like aeon came sailing out of the sky and landed on the deck next to the summoner. She ordered it to attack and it pushed off the ground into the sky. Its wings batted at the air as it opened its mouth and began to charge up an energy beam in front. It stretched its neck out towards the brownish fin and fired off a highly concentrated or pure energy. It plunged into the fin's flesh and moved its head to the left dragging the energy beam along the fin's side. None of the sinscales that burst forth from the fin's flesh were singed and died as they plummeted into the water.

A deep bellow erupted from within the depths of the crystal clear water. The fin plunged into the water sending up a massive wave that tipped the boat onto its side, but not enough to capsize it. Tidus was jostled from his position near the railing on the starboard side of the ship and sent overboard. Lauren rolled along the deck of the ship towards the starboard side. A gold chained locket slipped up over her head and through her hair and slid down the deck. The locket lingered on the very edge of the deck as the chain leisurely slipped into the ocean. The locket was finally cast off the edge of the deck by a wave of ocean water that lapped halfway up the deck.

Yuna ran over to the railing and clutched onto it keeping her from falling in after Tidus as the boat stabilized. She tried to leap into the water after him but Wakka placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. Kimahri strode over to stand beside Yuna, his muscular, blue fur covered arms folded across his chest. Wakka leapt into the water after Tidus as Lulu strolled over to the railing to join Yuna and Kimahri in gazing over the edge of the ship awaiting Wakka to return with Tidus. Lauren picked herself off the wet deck and felt around on her neck. She stopped with a sudden shock feeling no necklace draped around her neck. She glanced over to the side of the ship that dipped into the water and ran over to the railing. Before anyone could stop her, Lauren hopped onto the railing and leapt off into the crystal clear ocean waters.

Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri gazed into the clear ocean water to spot any signs of their friends; however, there were none. Yuna was ready to leap into the water again after her friends but Kimahri gripped the young summoner's shoulders firmly. "I hope they're okay…" Yuna let out a sigh of defeat.

Meanwhile underwater, Tidus was being assailed by a pair of piranha like fish as he lay drifting in the water unconscious. A blitzball came zipping through the water out of nowhere smacking into the piranha like fish. The fish were instantly destroyed and burst into pyreflies as Wakka came in close to Tidus. He fumbled around in his pockets till he felt and potion and brought it out casting it into the water right above Tidus. The cascade of healing liquid sank through the water and washed over Tidus' injured body, healing all wounds almost instantaneously.

Lauren swam through the salty, dark bluish green ocean waters attempting to locate her fallen locket. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something gold glinting off some of the few rays of sunlight piercing the water. She swam towards it, but it seemed to be moving to fast for her own pace so she came to a halt. Indeed the object was floating towards her and at a very rapid pace that would soon reach her in a matter of seconds. She glanced around frantically looking for any signs of Wakka or Tidus, but found none. She turned around and began to swim as fast as her arms and legs would carry her but a long slippery tentacle wrapped itself around her right leg. She cocked her head backwards over her shoulder to see a massive squid like thing with a diamond shaped head emerging from the dark depths.

The colossal squid like entity hauled its tentacle with Lauren's leg securely gripped within back to its side. The sudden change in depths as well as just the movement from one position to another through the water knocked all the air out of her lungs in one painful blast. She tried to go for her katana resting on her waist but the squid like fish had her arms plastered to her sides making them useless. Her lungs started to burn slightly, the pain increasing ever so leisurely, from the lack of oxygen. She tried to scream but since she was underwater there were no sounds only air bubbles rising to the surface. Her eyes became heavy with haziness and exhaustion and were very soon too heavy to keep open.

As her turquoise eyes shut tightly, Lauren felt ripples in the water zipping along her side and into where the squid like entity would be. She felt the thing convulse and then felt another wave of ripples come down from the direction of the surface and severed the tentacle that wrapped around her steadily. She sensed herself plummeting from the position that she had been in and into the deep depths of the ocean. An arm slipped around her waist and dragged her up through the now choppy water. Her head breached the surface of the water with seagulls squawking like a welcoming trumpet blast. A sudden rush of oxygen flooded into her lungs from the air around her causing her to open her eyes hastily.

Lauren coughed dramatically while gazing around at her surroundings to see Wakka bobbing in front of her. "You okay?" She nodded and then looked around for Tidus.

"Where's Tidus?"

"Still down there fighting that sinspawn." Wakka referred to the squid like entity.

"Well, we can't just leave him down there all by himself! I'm going back down to help him!" She dove into the water before Wakka had a chance to stop her. He shook his head in frustration and then leapt into the water after her.

Tidus sliced off a tentacle that shot out at him as Lauren arrived at his side. He shot her a questioning glance but had top focus his attention back on the squid like thing for it had launched two tentacles at him. He was struck with the tips of each of the two tentacles and felt some of his strength begin sapped and transferred into the sinspawn. The tentacles soon released content with their amount of energy sapped from the young blitz ace. Wakka's blitzball soared through the water and struck the sinspawn on the orange spot on its diamond shaped head. It let out a squeal of pain that was barely audible in the churning waters that separated Besaid from Kilika.

Wakka got Lauren's attention and pointed to the orange spot on its head as if it were some sort of weak point on the beast. She swam hastily through the water towards the sinspawn to plunge her katana into the thing's head. As she drew closer the thing rose up its middle row of tentacles and began to whirl them around like a blender. She was sucked into the torrent of chaotic water being churned around the sinspawn. The whip like tentacles slapped all over her body, suction cups leaving little red disks all along her slender figure. The sinspawn halted its blending of the water and slapped Lauren back through the water at Wakka and Tidus.

Tidus gestured for Lauren to take the right flank and for Wakka to stay in the middle for a distraction as he took the left flank of the sinspawn. The thing fell for the ploy. It lashed out at Wakka as he sent his blitzball zipping through the water time and time again. He evaded each blow in turn and kept up his assault on the sinspawn as Tidus and Lauren made their ways around the thing.

Lauren reached the sinspawn first and went for the orange spot on its head but was stopped when something caught her eye. It was her locket draped around one of the small tentacle like things jutting out from the squid like thing's head. She lifted her katana up and lopped off the tentacle like thing and grabbed her locket with both hands locking it tightly within her palms. The sinspawn was infuriated and began to whip its tentacles around again to perform the same attack that it had used a moment before but it stopped and let out a mighty squeal. Tidus' blade sunk into the orange colored weak point spilling out a thick, milky white substance into the water. The thing began to convulse and Tidus withdrew his sword and swam away from the squid like entity as fast as his arms and legs would carry him. The sinspawn began its dematerialization into pyreflies as the three friends ascended through the water towards the surface.

Lauren's, Tidus', and Wakka's heads popped out of the water with deep inhalations all around. Yuna was so happily surprised to finally see her friends safe that she almost leapt into the water to hug each of them. The three swam back over to the stern of the ship and used a small ladder placed there to access the deck of the boat. Yuna ran up to each of the three and gave them all friendly hugs and expressed how worried she was when the fell into the water and didn't come back up for such a long time. After Lauren was greeted by Yuna, she went off on her own to the other side of the ship deck.

As soon as she was out of sight from the others, Lauren slowly opened her fingers up around the golden strung locket. She stared at it for a moment before shedding a few soundless tears. She curled her fingers back up around it and pushed it to her chest, tears slipping down from her eyes and down to her chin. Yuna walked up from around the corner of the ship cabin and silently approached the crying teen. "What you got there, Lauren?" Her words jerked the teen violently out of her sobs, gently sliding her arm down to her side. Before she could open her mouth to explain anything a passenger shouted that Sin was attacking Kilika.

Yuna forgot all about her query and rushed to the bow of the boat to witness the horror of Sin completely trouncing Kilika. Before rushing off to join her friends in watching the horror of Sin ripping Kilika asunder, Lauren strung the gold necklace bearing the locket back around her neck. Sin was now out of the water and was skidding along the surface with what appeared to be some kind of hovering force. As it smashed into the docks it ripped up planks, trees, people, and other debris and flung them wildly around in a circle above it. After obliterated most of Kilika port, Sin smoothly skidded along the water's surface away from the port town.

"That's…that's just horrible." Lauren gazed out over the vast extent of desolate debris filled waters.

"I will defeat Sin... I must defeat Sin." Yuna clutched her hands tightly to her chest while announcing her resolve.

The boat glided the rest of its voyage into the mostly destroyed port city of Kilika. Tidus seemed lost in thought staring out into the light blue sky, seagulls whirling overhead. As the ship docked a throng of villagers gathered around the ship awaiting the arrival of the summoner. Yuna stepped down off the ship, her friends and guardians following her closely. "Greetings!" She bowed. "I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the temple in Besaid."

"M'lady Summoner!" One of the women encircling Yuna exclaimed.

"If there is no other summoner here," She gazed around, seeing no other summoners she continued. "Please allow me to perform the sending."

"Our loved ones... We feared they would become fiends!"

"Please, take me to them." Yuna and the villagers moved along the docks towards where the coffins of the dead rested in the water.

Everyone proceeded to follow the throng of villagers and Yuna except for Tidus, Wakka, and Lauren. "So, what do we do now?" Lauren queried. "And what is this 'sending' that Yuna is going to do." She turned to Wakka.

"The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living. Sad, isn't it? The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace." Wakka faced away from Lauren and Tidus. "We'll go see what we can do to help in town." He told the two blonde teens.

Wakka and Tidus continued up along the various docks and met up with the rest of the Aurochs. Lauren however, stopped to watch Yuna perform the sending for all the people who died when Sin attacked. "Is performing a sending hard?" Lauren leaned close to Lulu as to not allow her voice to be overheard by any villagers.

"This is Yuna's first sending. It will test her skills as a summoner as did acquiring the aeon from Besaid and then summoning it" Lulu expressed without breaking her gaze away from Yuna dancing out on the water with the various pyreflies dancing around her in a harmonious manner.

"Must be tough, being a summoner." Lulu looked over at Lauren oddly. "I mean having so much pressure on your shoulders to do a perfect job has got to be nerve-wracking. And to top it all off her father was the last summoner to defeat Sin, so she's got an awful lot to live up to." Lulu shifter her gaze back to Yuna, still performing the sending.

"Yuna chose her own path. She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do is protect her along the way. Until the end." Yuna began to stride back over the water back towards the docks.

"Until the end? Until she defeats Sin, right?"

"Exactly." Yuna placed her feet back onto the docks and walked up towards Lulu and Lauren.

"I hope... I hope I did okay." Yuna bowed her head in front of Lulu.

"You did very well! They've reached the Farplane by now." Lulu comforted Yuna with her words as well as pats on the back. "But...no tears next time, hm?" Yuna nodded.

After Yuna was done performing the sending, all the villagers started to disperse and retreat back to what is left of their huts to retire for the night. The group each got their own room in the only inn that wasn't annihilated by Sin earlier. After everyone else went to sleep, the Aurochs stayed up and worked on rebuilding the docks for some time.

Lauren awoke the next day to the sounds of hammers falling, children running amuck on the docks with balls, seagulls soaring overhead while squawking, and the calming sound of ocean waves lapping up on the beach and pier posts. She stood up in the small inn room and walked over to the single window on the other side of the room overlooking the docks. Yuna was down on the docks right in front of the inn and called out to Lauren as soon as she spotted her in the window. "Lauren!" She caught her attention. "We're going to go pray at the temple, hurry up."

"Wait up!" Lauren rushed over to the door and opened it and ran down the stairs into the main lobby of the minuscule inn. Outside she met up with Yuna and they began to stroll over towards a huge forest resting on the outskirts of the port village. Lulu and Kimahri met up with them as the reached the outskirts of the forest and continued into the lively forest. Tidus and Wakka were nowhere to be found and so the group waited for them to catch up, for they were undoubtedly still in Kilika port. A few moments later Tidus and Wakka emerged through the diminutive foliage that lay at the entrance to the forest that protected the temple.

"What took you so long?" Lauren jested playfully. Tidus and Wakka did not heed her until they were right in front of her.

"Just fixing up the town, unlike you sleepyhead." Tidus responded teasingly back at Lauren.

"Hey! I'm not used to this kinda stuff, fighting fiends and all like you guys are." Lauren retorted. "Besides, I almost got drowned remember? So cut me a little slack, will you?" She hit Tidus on the arm playfully.

"Hey! That hurt!" he gave a soft punch in the arm back to her. They both broke out in laughter, amused with their own antics.

"If you two are done, we have to go to the temple for Yuna to pray to the fayth." Lulu quickly shut down the conversation between the two blonde teens. The group moved on up an old, moss covered stone road for a bit till Yuna stopped and turned to face Tidus and Lauren.

"I want to ask you two to be my guardians." She spoke in her soft, formal voice.

"Yuna! What? This is no time for jokes, ya? He may be a blitzball whiz kid and she may be fun to be around, but up against fiends, they're newbies." Wakka practically shouted at the young summoner.

"Not a guardian, then...I just want him nearby." She completely ignored what she said about Lauren and only referred to Tidus.

"What? What do you mean?" Tidus looked even more lost than when he didn't know anything about this time or place.

"It's just that, well..." Yuna trailed off.

"We're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?" Lulu urged them along towards the temple.

The group of companions soon emerged from the part of the trail that was sheltered by large tree tops into an open area with a little stream running along the right side of the path. Around a bend in the path multitudes of flights of stairs ran up a hill to the top where the temple lay. Wakka steps one foot on the stairs and goes off explaining some of their history without being asked. "These stone steps have a history, you know?" Tidus and Lauren looked at him oddly. "Yep. Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."

Before either of them could ask who Lord Ohalland was two of the Aurochs ran up and challenged them to a race. Tidus, Lauren, Wakka, and the two Aurochs lined up on the first landing on the stairs. "Yuna, if you would." Wakka asked Yuna to start off the race.

Yuna stood before the four of them, her arms up past her head. "Ready?" She spun around and began to charge up the stairs, giggling. The rest of them were stunned form a moment but then they chased after her, but Tidus kinda hovered back. Lauren, Yuna, Wakka, and the two Aurochs disappeared over the top of the flight of stairs leading onto one big flat area. A scream shot up through the air catching Tidus' attention as a couple of villagers came scrambling down the stairs.

"Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!" Wakka appeared over the lip of the stairs summoning his friends. Tidus rushed up the stairs, drawing his sword on his way up, and came upon a massive shell like thing with tentacles bursting out of the ground. It whipped out one of the smaller tentacles attached to the lager one at Yuna. Lauren ran over to stand in between the blow and Yuna but was cut off by another tentacle. She dropped her katana blade onto the moss colored tentacle that was starting to bind itself around her waist. The moss colored tentacle plopped to the ground and wriggled around ceaselessly at Lauren's feet.

Kimahri charged the large shell like thing that was rested on the far side of the courtyard like open surface. He plunged his spear into the impenetrable shell protecting the sinspawn with a powerful lunge. The spear tip bounced off the shell and flew into the air dragging the Ronso back with it until he regained his footings by smashing the butt of his spear into the ground. He then proceeded cross his blue fur covered arms in front of his muzzle and pulled them away to his sides. A giant sphere object erupted out of his mouth and hurtled through the air towards the sinspawn. Even the very hasty velocity of the seed like object could not penetrate the rough outer shell of the sinspawn.

Wakka tossed his blitzball a few feet into the air and caught it on his right pointer finger. The blitzball spun around on his pointer finger and a burst of flames flared up to ensnare the blitzball. He tossed the now flame enveloped blitzball dashing through the clear azure sky towards the center of the sinspawn's shell where a slight crack hid. The ball smashed into the scallop shaped ornaments edging the shell where it would open up to show its true form. The blitzball sizzled on the sinspawn's coarse outer shell as it burnt its way through the shell very leisurely. The thing let out a shrill shriek of pain but did not let its shell slid open to make it vulnerable.

Tidus eluded one after another of the moss green tentacles on the left side of the large open landing. He became winded after some time of evading the finger like tentacles and was shortly caught up in one of them. He squirmed around in the tight, forceful grip of several of the moss colored tentacles in an attempt to relieve himself of the pressure, but it was all in vain. The tentacle rolled back, almost touching the ground tiles, and then became erect while also loosening its grip on Tidus sending him sailing through the air. He landed into a patch of bushes and other plants to the left of the vast circular landing on which the sinspawn rested.

Seeing no other way to help her friends, Yuna went through the process Valefor while her friends battle it relentlessly drawing its full attention on them instead of her. Valefor plummeted from the sky, the air wrapping around it like it was an artillery shell that had been fired at extreme velocities. The aeon stopped and unfolded its wings from around its body right before it struck the ground. "Valefor, energy ray!" Yuna hollered the command at her aeon. Valefor propelled itself into the air and spun around, its wings tightly locked around its body. It lowered its neck and aimed its mouth towards the thick shell of the sinspawn and fired off a beam of pure energy. The beam glided along the sinspawn's hard outer shell sending the scent of burning plants as well as flesh wafting into the azure sky.

When the dust cleared from Valefor's energy ray the sinspawn was still standing there and seemed to be infuriated rather than injured. It cracked its rough shell open about half a foot and emitted a strange, green, brown gas. The noxious gas washed over the wide circular landing, consuming all in its poisonous fumes. Valefor was immediately stunned by the noxious fumes and then was lashed by the finger like tentacles continuously. Kimahri was the closest to the sinspawn when the gas erupted from within the depths of the shell. He attempted to fight the poison out of his system but it was too potent for the Ronso. Yuna saw her guardian from childhood succumb to the sinspawn's poison and rushed off to help him. "Esuna!" She shouted across the gap that separated her from Kimahri. He soon felt the affects of the poison diminishing and soon returned him back to full health.

Lauren ran towards the sinspawn to where Wakka's fire blitzball had left a burn hole in the sinspawn's rigid shell. She plunged her katana blade through the burnt out hole not knowing what to expect for a reaction from the thing. The sinspawn cried out in pain as her blade sank deeper and deeper into its supple, unguarded flesh. However, it immediately went into a blind assault on the blonde haired teen. Both of its moss colored tentacles with the finger like ones jutting out of them, left the other fighters and focused their assault on Lauren. She was completely unprepared and still had her katana lodged in the sinspawn's shell when the tentacles struck.

They hit Lauren hard and fast, not allowing her enough time to retrieve her sword from within the shell. Each of the tentacle whips made thick, long red marks all along Lauren's body. She was doubled over in pain every time a tentacle came for her and had no way of stopping the blow, nor any chance of eluding it. She stood there, letting the moss colored tentacles pummel her ceaselessly, until something inside her snapped. She could no longer feel the pain inflicted upon her by the sinspawn's tentacles.

Time seemed to slow down in her eyes as the tentacles made their way through the air towards her inch by inch. She ran back over to the sinspawn's shell and heaved upon her sword, jostling it from its position imbedded in the spawn's flesh. She hurried back over to where the tentacles were still failing around and unleashed a small concession of blade strokes. After several blade strokes, the tentacles were all severed clean from the portion connecting them to the sinspawn. Her katana began to glow bright with a vibrant pallid radiance as it passed through the last tentacles.

Lauren whiled around on her heels and charged back at the sinspawn, who was wailing in pain from her previous attacks. She leapt into the air and brought her katana blade down upon the top of the tough shell. Where her katana and the sinspawn's rigid shell connected was a blinding flash of the same pallid light that her sword was emitting. The top portion of the shell seemed to melt away before everyone's eyes with the pallid light radiating the entire time. Lauren did a back flip through the air away from the melting sinspawn shell. As her feet connected with the ground a crippling pain shot up through her body causing her to collapse forward.

"Lauren!" Yuna yelled, ruining over to the collapsed teen. "Are you alright?" Lauren just lay there, unconscious.

"Lu! Hit it now with your fire magic!" Wakka ordered the black mage. She raised her hand into the air and conjured up a large, red orange fireball. She aimed it at the now exposed sinspawn and cast it in the direction of the fiend. It struck the sinspawn's supple flesh with an earsplitting sizzle and set it ablaze. The blaze soon traveled from the sinspawn's main body out to what was left of its tentacles sending up a blaze around the perimeter on the sides of the circular landing.

Tidus emerged from the foliage that surrounded the vast circular landing and rushed over to Lauren, seeing her lay face down on the ground. "What happened to her?" Tidus exclaimed his voice cracking and heavy with breathing.

"I…I don't know. One minute she was being attacked by all those tentacles and the next minute she killed them all and the sinspawn too. Then she landed her and collapsed." Yuna looked over Lauren's body quizzically.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Heal her!" Tidus hollered. Yuna nodded while standing up and trained her rod down towards the incapacitated Lauren. The pallid aura left Yuna's rod and flowed over Lauren's injured body. Her eyes shot wide open and she coughed. She slowly stumbled to her feet, holding her head with her right hand.

"Are you alright Lauren?" Yuna gazed at the blonde haired teen.

"Yeah…" Lauren responded, tripping over a rock that almost sent her on her stomach. "I am now. Thanks Yuna."

"You're welcome."

Tidus turned away from the two girls and strolled up to Lulu. "What are these "sinspawn" anyway?" The blitz ace inquired.

The black mage gave him an icy glance but answered his query. "Fiends. They fall from Sin's body, and are left behind in its wake." Wakka strode up to Tidus and Lulu.

"Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick" He added onto Lulu's explanation.

"Everyone?" Yuna got the entire group's attention. "Are we ready to move on?"

"Only if you are Yuna." Lulu stated. Yuna nodded and the group continues their ascent up the vast stairs.

"So, uh...they got fiends in Zanarkand, too?" Wakka asked Tidus on their long, boring ascent of the stairs.

"Just a few. It's a big deal when one shows up, though. Hey! Since when have you believed me about Zanarkand, anyway?" Tidus exclaimed.

"I been thinking." Wakka scratched the back of his orange covered head. "Maybe people Sin gets to don't die. Maybe Sin carries 'em through time. Like a thousand years through time. And then, one day, maybe they just pop back, see?"

"Amazing. Simply amazing." Everyone shifted their lines of sight hastily at Lulu. "You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back. Oh, and one more thing. No matter how much you want it, no one can take Chappu's place. No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad." Her voice was lined with scorn.

"What's gotten into her?" Lauren leaned over to whisper in Yuna's ear.

"Chappu…Chappu and her were close…And then he went and joined the crusaders and never returned." Yuna's eyes seemed to dim.

"How close? If you don't mind me asking." Lauren looked into Yuna's eyes. They were now filled with sorrow for her friend that she considered an older sister.

"Wakka says that he was going to propose to her…but then he left and was destroyed by Sin.

"Like him…"She whispered aloud drawing Yuna's attention.

"Like who?" Yuna asked noting the sadness in Lauren's eyes.

"Huh?" Lauren's thoughts shattered in her mind. "Oh…it's nothing…" Yuna didn't seem convinced but didn't continue the conversation anyway.

They moved on up the stairs until they came to the summit where a large temple with a ramp down into the temple with crimson flames in globes lining either side of the ramp. As they approached the temple a group of five people came out of the temple doors and walked up to the companions. "You here to pray for victory, too?" Wakka queried.

The man with red hair chuckled. "Us? Pray? Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!" His attitude was smug and backed up by his teammates.

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?" Wakka patently awaited the response.

"We've been praying for some competition this year!" Another of the men boasted.

"So, what's you goal this time? You gonna "do your best" again? Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up" The red haired man laughed.

"Wow, what a jerk." Lauren whispered between her and Tidus.

"Yeah." Tidus walked away from Lauren and stood next to Wakka. "This time, we play to win!" The Goers' all let out an arrogant laugh.

"Oooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play, boys" The red haired man mocked Tidus. "Let's go guys." He and his fellow teammates push past Wakka and Tidus.

"See you in the finals!" Wakka shouted after the retreating Goers.

"We'll beat them. We have to!" Tidus said to Wakka.

"Yeah! Kick some butt guys!" Lauren encouraged the Aurochs. "Wipe that smug grin off their faces!"

"You bet!" Tidus howled. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we take the cup!"

"Let's keep going." Yuna urged on the continuation of going to pray to the fayth. Everyone nodded and entered the temple.

Once inside the temple Tidus and Wakka go over to a statue placed on one of the sides of the main staircase that leads to the cloister of trials. Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri walked over to stand right in front of the stairs. Lauren meandered around the temple chamber for some time before the door to the cloister of trials slid open. Out of the open doorway came a tan skinned woman with black hair and very skimpy clothing. Right behind her lumbered a big ox of a man with black hair and massive muscles. The two descend the stairs and stride right over to Yuna. "A summoner, are you?" The woman inquired.

"My name is Yuna-from the Isle of Besaid." Yuna did a little bow like she did usually.

"Dona. So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to. My, my, my... And all these people are your guardians?" She looked from Wakka to Tidus to Kimahri to Lulu and finally to Lauren. "My, what a rabble! As I recall, Lord Braska had only two guardians. Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking? I have need of only one guardian. Right, Barthello?" Barthello nodded yes.

"I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honor!" Lauren appeared as though she blushed a bit. "Even more so than being my father's daughter. Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either. So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace." Yuna summed up.

"You do what you want. Barthello, we're leaving." And with that Dona and Barthello swept pass Yuna and her guardians and out the entrance of the temple.

"What was with her?" Lauren inquired. "Does she think she has to be that rude to accomplish anything in life?"

"I don't think that's it." Yuna said in her usual soft voice. "I just think that she has a different perspective of things and that we are not the ones that should be questioning that." She explained.

"I still say I don't like her." Lauren said bitterly.

Without saying any other words, the group moved on and ascended the stairs to enter the cloister of trials. On the other side of the door sat an elevator perched over a hole that led down into the cloister of trials. Everyone steps onto the elevator but when Tidus and Lauren try to go on Kimahri bars their path. "Hey, what gives?" Tidus shouted, certainly angered.

"You're not a guardian yet." Lulu retorted in her usual calm but spiteful voice.

"We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" Yuna said as the elevator lurched downward and then slid all the way down on the track.

"Oh, sure! Soon like "tomorrow" soon, I bet!" Tidus said sarcastically, kicking the wall.

"Hey, if we go down there and we're not guardians we might get Yuna in trouble, you know?" Lauren attempted to calm Tidus down.

"I know. I just don't want to be stuck up here by myself." Tidus slouched on the wall he had just been kicking at.

"You're not alone, I'm here." Lauren comforted Tidus.

"Yeah, yeah."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Lauren stared angrily at Tidus. "What? I'm I not good enough for you? Or is it that you just don't like me anymore?" She got right up into the blitz ace's face.

"It's nothing like that. I…"He trailed off upon hearing footsteps echoing from the doorway.

Dona and Barthello came ambling through the doorway and met with Tidus and Lauren. "Where's Yuna?" Dona asked, Barthello standing right behind her. Tidus pointed down the elevator shaft with a shaky finger. "Then why are you here?"

"We aren't guardians yet." Lauren answered.

Dona looked over Tidus and Lauren. "Hmm. Not guardians, you say?" Barthello strides forth and picks both Lauren and Tidus upon his shoulders and carried them to the elevator.

"Hey! Wait! Ah! Let us go!" Tidus bellowed as he and Lauren kicked at the muscular man. Barthello steps onto the now risen elevator and heaves Lauren and Tidus onto it. "Hey! What's the big idea?" The blitz ace complained some more.

"Just a little game." Dona said with an eerie tone as the elevator descended into the cloister of trials.

Once inside the trials, Lauren and Tidus decide to press on to locate their friends. They came upon a room with a burning pedestal in the center of it. Lauren ran up and took a sphere out from the pedestal, it stopped burning. Tidus located a recess in the wall right next to a door with vine like things baring the doorway with a line connected from the recess to the vines. Lauren rushed over to where Tidus stood, next to the doorway, and placed the fire sphere gently into the recess. The fire sphere lit up the line connecting the recess to the vines with an orange glow that seemed like fire. The vines caught ablaze from the power of the sphere and continued to burn.

"What do we do now?" Lauren asked Tidus. "These flames won't die out."

Tidus pondered for a moment. "I got it!" He declared, taking the Kilika sphere out of the recess in the wall. The flames dissipated and the ashes of the vines collapsed to the ground in a dusty pile of black.

Upon entering the next room, Lauren and Tidus noted another one of the Kilika spheres resting on a pedestal. Lauren went up and snapped it out of the sphere shaped recess in the pedestal and ran next to Tidus. They each went to opposite sides of the room and placed their respective spheres into recesses in the walls. A glyph appeared on the north wall and Lauren ran up and touched it. The wall where the glyph was opened up to allow its guests to pass through into the next room.

In the next room there was another Kilika sphere, which Tidus took and then ran back to the previous room and placed it in a recess on the west side of the room. Then he ran back to the other room and picked up a glyph sphere. He then ran back to the last room and fitted it into the empty slot left by the Kilika sphere. Then Lauren ran back to where the pedestal was and took a Kilika sphere out from one of the recesses in the wall. She placed the Kilika sphere into one of the two sphere shaped slots on the pedestal and waited fro Tidus to bring another.

He soon came with another Kilika sphere and dropped it into place on the pedestal. He pushed it up through the doorway and onto a shimmering tile that was right in the middle of the floor. Flames to the left of him and Lauren went out showing a staircase that led down into a path between the two sides of the room. Lauren removed a Kilika sphere from a recess in the wall at the bottom of the stairs and as she did the flames that blocked up the rest of the path disappeared. They ran through the pathway and ascended a flight of stairs and found another of the doors blocked with vines. Lauren placed the Kilika sphere into the recess next to the doorway just like before and watched the vines get incinerated. After she removed the sphere, the vines collapsed to the ground allowing her and Tidus into the waiting room where all their friends waited on Yuna to get done praying to the fayth.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka exclaimed as Tidus and Lauren entered the room.

"Calm down Wakka." Lauren said.

"It was Dona and that big musclehead man!" Tidus elaborated.

"Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!" Lulu stated from her leisurely standing point.

"What consequences?" Lauren queried, uncertain to what Lulu meant.

"She could be excommunicated!"

"So, what's in there anyway? What is she doing in there?" Lauren asked trying to get off the other subject.

"The fayth, remember?" Wakka reiterated.

"Oh, yeah, that thing. Right" Tidus remembered what they had said about the fayth being at the end of the cloister of trials.

"The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies." Lulu explained the roles of the fayth. Lauren and Tidus looked at her like she was an alien or something. "Now they live forever trapped in statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon." She went on.

"All that in this room? S-So what's Yuna doing in there?" Tidus asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin." Wakka said to the blonde blitz ace. Tidus turned around and was about to walk out when the door to the chamber of the fayth slid open slowly. Yuna emerged from the chamber of the fayth with her newly acquired aeon, Ifrit to be summoned at any time.

The group then meandered back through the now finished cloister of trials and headed back up the elevator. Once outside, a throng of villagers surrounded Yuna the instant she emerged from the temple. They all gazed at her in wide wonder and awe. All she could do was just smile back at all the adoring fans. The villagers dispersed a few moments later and the group set back towards the docks to catch a ride on the next boat out of Kilika.

Many villagers were out to bid Yuna a fond farewell. Yuna could only wave and smile back at the throngs of villagers that surrounded the S.S. Winno. "Great…another boat!" Lauren complained. "I just hope Sin doesn't attack this one too." Tidus laughed.

"Yeah, it would be a shame if we had to kick its butt again!" Tidus mocked Sin while striding up to the bow of the ship.

"Don't think that just because we defeated its fin that the entire beast will be easily overcome." Lulu ended Tidus' laughter. "Remember what it did her just yesterday? It tore this place apart without getting so much as scratch."

"Sheesh Lulu! I was just messin' around." Tidus turned away from the black mage.

"Even so, if you mess around with Sin you will get yourself killed." Her voice was stern, yet had a twang of sadness barely noticeable floating on it.

Lauren seemed to note this sadness in Lulu's voice. "Lulu, is something the matter? You seem a bit on the sad side." The black mage said nothing, only turned away from Lauren and strolled away.

"I bet that has something to do with Chappu." Lauren said aloud.

"Chappu? Why him?" Tidus startled Lauren.

"Whoops! Didn't mean to say that aloud!" She smacked herself in the forehead. "Yuna told me that Lulu and Chappu were very close."

"So, that means that she was sad cuz Chappu got killed by Sin?"

"Yes." Lauren responded. "Poor Lulu. It must be hard to lose someone that you love." Lauren stared off into the azure sky at the white fluffy clouds. 'Unfortunately, I know all too well how that feels.' She thought to herself, reaching a hand down her sweatshirt to rub the locket that was draped around her neck.

"Lauren? Lauren?" Tidus snapped his fingers In front of the blonde teen girl's face, jerking her out of her thoughts. "What's with you?"

"Oh…it…it's nothing." She stammered.

"Okay. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be there for you." Tidus cocked his head at Lauren, a friendly smile painted upon his face.

"Thanks Tidus, I'll keep that in mind." She smiled back at the blitz ace.

"No problem."


	4. Lost Love

Chapter 4: Lost Love

A/N: Sorry for the extensive delay but I got addicted to Counter-Strike so I've been playing that a lot…maybe even too much. Anyway, here's chapter four after its delay.

**Jaina-Fel**: I'm very happy you like it and also that you reviewed again. Yay now I have 3 fans that have read this far and I hope I can get more but if not oh well. Anyway, hope you like chapter four.

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: I'm very glad u liked the fight scenes because I love to write them and from my reviewers of my other fic I'm pretty talented at writing them.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Well I'm glad to hear that you keep reading fics you like and that mine is one of them. About sticking too close to the actual game but it's the first few chapters so I don't know exactly what I want to do but don't worry I will break away from it more. And yeah the speech; I know Lulu's supposed to say it but oh well.

**Spira'sSentry**: I'm very glad to have you back man! That sucks that it wouldn't let you log on. Yeah the game script I just found it on and saved it so I would have it. And I'm glad u liked this one so far so here's chapter four, man.

Night had set on the ocean that harbored the S.S. Winno as it skidded along the calm waters that separated Kilika from Luca. All the passengers had turned in for the night except for Yuna and her guardians. Wakka and Lulu were perched up on the upper deck located right above the ship's bridge just talking. Kimahri stood like an unwavering sentinel out on the deck of the ship over watching the deck of the ship. Yuna was off down below deck in her room. Tidus was at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to where Wakka and Lulu were conversing looking as though he was ease dropping. Lauren stood by herself at the bow of the ship leaning on the railing looking out over the ocean into the dark horizon.

Lauren pulled the locket out from the depths of her sweat shirt and cradled it tenderly in the palm of her hand. She put her thumb against the right side of the locket and applied the slightest amount of pressure possible for it to click open. Resting between the golden rims of the locket sat a picture of a young man with dreamy blue eyes and spiky jet black hair. Lauren's eyes met those of the young man in the picture releasing lucid tears down her wind chilled cheeks.

'Why did he have to leave then? Why did he have to go there? Why couldn't he have just stayed with me?' Her eyes never unlocked with those of the young man in the picture in the locket, her tears becoming more frequent.

A wave smacked the bow of the S.S Wino sending up a spray of blue green salt water at Lauren. She did not move and did not seem to even notice that she had been splashed. 'Why does it still hurt so much after all this time? It's been almost a year and a half and none of the pain has gone away, why!'

She glared down at the picture in the locket and then began to smile a kind of evil smile. 'I know why I can still feel so much pain after all this time. It's this locket! If I get rid of it maybe I will get rid of my sorrow!' She cocked her arm back; the locket tightly wrapped in her hand, and prepared to toss it overboard. She was just about to pitch the thing overboard when she felt something stab at her heart.

'I can't get rid of this.' She lowered her arm down and unraveled her fingers from around the open locket. 'This is all I have to remember him by. But if I keep it then I will always have sorrow. What can I do? What should I do?' Her inner conflict came to a screeching halt when footsteps echoed from behind her. She whiled around to find Yuna slowly approaching her.

"Lauren? Are you alright? You are crying." Yuna's eyes met with Lauren's eyes to ensure an accurate answer. "Who gave you that locket?" The summoner noticed the golden locket Lauren had failed to hide.

"His name was Brian, my boyfriend. Or he was till he was killed." Lauren broke out in loud cries with tears streaming steadily down her cheeks. She threw her arms around Yuna, much to her surprise, and cried on her shoulder. The young summoner patted Lauren on the back in the most comforting way she knew but nothing could ease the pain the teenage girl was facing.

"I know it may hurt Lauren, but talking about things usually takes some of the burden off." Yuna said while having Lauren release her grip on her.

"I've had a few boyfriends before him but he was the only one that actually loved me. All the other ones were just in the relationship for sexual reasons, but not him." Lauren turned her gaze from Yuna and focused it out over the vast night sea. "We would do just about everything together and we had almost all the same classes in school. He would take me out to dinner and give me gifts like roses and jewelry…like this locket. I like getting things and being treated to dinner and stuff but that's not why I liked him so. He had a kind of loving aura around him that every time I was with him my heart would race and I would feel like there was nothing that could bring me down. I loved him so much, but then that day came…" The chill night air splashed upon her face, freezing her tears.

Yuna was on the verge of crying from listening to Lauren spill her feelings to her. "If you don't mind me asking…what did happen that day?" Lauren turned back around to face the light brown haired summoner.

"Well, we were at my house after school just enjoying each others' company. Then he had to leave for dinner at his own house. So he left and then about a few hours later I got a phone call from his parents saying…" She started to cry even more so than she had been before, almost collapsing to her knees. "…they said that he had gotten caught up in a gun fight over something like a drug deal gone bad or something when he was walking home and was shot by a one of the fleeing men." She cried.

"Lauren…I'm so sorry." Yuna had tears coming down her face. "I've never experienced the loss of someone I loved but I will help you as much as I can." Lauren attempted to smile through her blood shot eyes and tear streaked face.

"Thank you Yuna. I might come and talk to you if I ever have another problem but for now I just want to be alone." She turned back to the railing and ignored Yuna as she slowly strolled away from her, every once in a while glancing back.

Tidus walked away from the flight of stairs leading up to where Wakka and Lulu were still chatting and bumped into Yuna. "Hey Yuna." He exclaimed in a happy voice but his eyes soon met her and shifted to a serious personality. "What's the matter?"

Yuna turned her head back to gaze at Lauren for a moment. "It's Lauren…she's going through a hard time right now." Tidus looked oddly at the young summoner.

"What is it?" He queried.

"I…I can't say right now."

"Well then, I'm just gonna have to go over there and talk to her myself. After all, I did say to her that she could talk to me about anything." He started toward Lauren but Yuna's hand caught him on the shoulder.

"She said she wanted to be alone right now. We have to respect her request." Yuna said gazing into Tidus' eyes.

"Okay, okay." The blitz ace stormed off to the back of the S.S. Winno.

Lauren heard Tidus mumble some incoherent words on the back of the ship deck but continued to stare off into the dark horizon. 'I think Yuna was right…I don't feel as though I have so much of a burden and it hurts less…maybe.' Wakka let out an amazed cry and so did a few other passengers as the watched Tidus perform something on the back deck. 'Yuna's nice. I gotta thank her some time. But for now I think a good night's sleep will do me some good.' She strode over to the door leading down to the lower cabin, to her room, wiping the tears from her eyes.



The next morning Lauren emerged from her room and headed onto the deck where Yuna was waiting for her. "Good morning Lauren!" Her smiled could have cheered up anyone. "How are you doing this morning?"

"A lot better then last night. You were right, talking does help." Yuna smiled back at Lauren. "Thank you."

"See I told you. I may not completely be able to understand or relate but telling someone about the problem helps a lot." Yuna said, almost boasting. "Oh, that's right! Tidus probably wants to talk to you." Lauren looked at the summoner questioningly.

"Why?"

"He wanted to know what the matter with you was last night. He was going to right after I left but I stopped him because you said that you wanted to be alone." She responded.

"Okay, thanks." Lauren surveyed the ship deck to find Tidus but she couldn't find him. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's on the other side of the ship. He's alone, just looking into the water off the side." The honey brown haired summoner replied.

Lauren nodded her thanks and proceeded to the other side of the ship to speak with Tidus. As Yuna said, he was leaning on the railing overlooking the sea. "You wanted to talk with me?" The blonde blitz ace whiled around hastily in surprise.

"Yeah." He faced her, staring into her eyes. "What was the matter last night? You were upset about something, what was it?" He inquired in concern.

"That…that was nothing really." She stammered. "I was just overwhelmed by the other day and ending up here with you guys. I guess I was just homesick…" She lied.

"I know that those can't be the only reasons that you were so upset, but whatever you say." Tidus spun back around to the railing. "Just remember what I said yesterday about how you can tell me anything, I just want to help you."

"I know and I'm grateful for your offer but there is nothing wrong." Lauren said as she began to walk away from Tidus. "See you later Tidus." He waved good bye over his head, still looking out over the water.

Lauren ambled around the ship deck until she ran into Yuna again. "So, what did you tell him?" She queried.

"I didn't tell him anything. I just said I was homesick…which I guess I am a little but…" Yuna gazed at Lauren questioningly.

"I thought you would want to tell him. You and him seem to get along really well and didn't he say something about that you could tell him anything?" Lauren started off toward the nearby railing but then stopped suddenly and gawked at Yuna.

"Wait. How did you know that he said that to me?"

"Oh, I just overheard him say it to you the yesterday." She said. Lauren let the subject go just as she heard some of the passengers hollering that they had finally arrived at Luca.

Lauren rushed to the bow of the ship to witness their arrival at one of the biggest cities in Spira. The massive blitzball stadium caught her attention first with it's multitudes of colored standards and the colossal sphere of water in the center. "Wow…now that's big!" She admired the fabulous blitzing arena. "I just thought all the places around here were all small villages. I mean with Sin and all attacking them constantly like at Kilika."

"Nope, this is one of the only cities that are large like this, along with the capitol of Bevelle." Wakka came up to the amazed blonde girl. "The crusaders fight with all their strength to keep this place safe from Sin 'cuz it holds the only blitzball stadium. Blitzball is one of the few things that we have here that makes us forget about Sin and everything else that is going wrong in our lives, and makes us just focus on the game!"

"This stadium is really neat! I can't wait to see a blitzball match, even though I've never really been into sports but this game seems like it could be fun to watch." Lauren exclaimed, still glancing over the stadium.

"Yeah, it's a really awesome game, ya?" Wakka walked over to Tidus. "So, you ready for the big game?" Tidus smiled a large, friendly grin.

"You bet! I can't wait to see the look on the Goers' faces when we take the cup!" He shouted.

"I agree!" Lauren piped in. "Those guys are so arrogant and deserve to get shot down. Kick their butts Tidus and Wakka!" The two blitz players smiled back at her.

"Oh, we will." They said in unison with a laugh. "Thanks for the support Lauren, we could really use some more cheerers for our team, you know." Tidus replied to Lauren's support.

"No problem." She smiled a lighthearted, friendly smile at the young blonde haired blitz ace.

The ship docked and the passengers began to file off of the S.S. Winno and onto the crowded docks outside the blitzball stadium. The sound of two announcers echoed off the docks announcing the arrival of the different blitzball teams that would be playing in the tournament. When the Aurochs stepped off the boat and onto the packed docks the two announcers said how bad the team was. Tidus got angry at the announcers and the Luca Goers and grabbed a megaphone, climbed up on some wooden crate and started to holler taunts at them.

"Stop right there, Goers!" They turned around hastily to see what the commotion was about. "You guys are smilin' now, but not for long! 'Cause this year, us Aurochs are taking the cup!" Tidus taunted the reigning champions of the blitzball tournament.

All the Goers did was look oddly at Tidus with arrogant smirks spread across their faces. Then they walked off without giving so much as a back glance at Tidus or anyone else. Tidus hopped down from his perch atop the wooden crates and was quickly scolded by Wakka. "What in Yevon's name were you doing up there?" He shouted as Tidus smiled and laid the megaphone back down on some crates. The young blitzer just smiled and before Wakka could say anymore some one in the throng of spectators shouted.

"Maester Mika is here!" A man cried out in the middle of the throng of spectators. "The number 3 dock!" The throngs of people hurried away from the dock and rushed over to dock number three where the Grand Maester of Yevon had arrived.

"What is a Maester?" Lauren queried following the throngs of villagers and her friends. "And what is so great about them?" Wakka fell back to walk next to the blonde.

"Maesters are the spiritual leaders of Yevon." The orange haired blitzer elaborated. "They hold Spira together through the teachings of Yevon, ya know."

"Okay, who is this Maester Mika then?" Lauren inquired.

"Maester Mika is the leader of all the people of Spira. He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to honor his fifty years as Maester." Lulu said passing by the young blonde and the blitzer.

"Wow, fifty years? Shouldn't he be, uh, retired by now?" Tidus butted in as he caught up with the group.

"Hey! Mind your mouth, now." Wakka scolded Tidus harshly.

The group caught up with the throngs of townspeople huddled around the boat where Maester Mika was about to descend from. Yuna and her friends were in the back and could not see a thing and barged their way to where they had a clear view of the ship. Down the ramp leading off the boat came blue, spiked haired man with blue, red, and green robes with a black, odd tattoo placed upon the center of his chest. A tattoo like design wrapped around his forehead and stretched down on either side of his grayed eyes. He had long fingernails that were like an inch and a half long jutting out from his unusually large hands.

A succession of murmurs shot up randomly throughout the massive crow surrounding the dock. "That's a Guado, right?" One man queried. "Who could it be?" A woman wondered. "Isn't that Maester Seymour?" A second man stated.

An old man with a long, white beard and sideburns gracefully strolled down to where Seymour had now bowed. He had on a box shaped black hat with golden trim where it touched his head and was clad in mostly off white, black and red robes. He gestured for Seymour to rise to his feet. Everyone in the crowd started doing the Yevon prayer except Tidus and Lauren. Wakka grabbed both of them and dragged them into the stance of the prayer.

"People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome." He turned to Seymour. "Rise, Maester Seymour. And all of you as well." Everyone in the crowd rose. "I present to you...the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon."

"I am Seymour Guado." His soft, yet eerie voice made Lauren's skin crawl. "I am honored to receive the title of Maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities." He surveyed the multitudes of people gathered around the boat and locked his grayed eyes on Lauren.

Her turquoise eyes met his grey ones, sending odd shivers of fear down her spine. 'He is not gone entirely. You can still save him with that black pendent.' A slithering voice crept into her mind.

'Who are you? And what are you doing in my brain!' She shouted her thoughts within her brain.

'Can't you recognize my voice? I just spoke only half a minute ago.' The voice chuckled. 'You will see him soon and you will have to make the choice of whether or not he gets to live once more with you.' And with that the voice disappeared.

Lauren stood there shocked for a moment before Tidus nudged her in the side gently with his elbow. "Hey, what's the matter?" He whispered.

She shook her thoughts out of her mind. "Huh? Oh, nothing." Maester Mika and Seymour, along with their escorts, passed through the crowd that proceeded to flood into the city.

Lauren and the Aurochs found their way from the docks down into the locker rooms of the blitzball stadium. As they were shown what locker room would be theirs Wakka went off to find out what team they would be facing first in the tournament. The Aurochs were whispering different comments between themselves as they awaited their captain's arrival. Finally the door opened with a twist of the knob and the orange haired blitzball captain emerged from the hallway.

Wakka waltzed into the room and placed himself right in the middle of the room where the wooden benches began to stretch back away from the door. The team huddled around Wakka with an eager look in their eyes. Wakka smiled, "We're playin' the Al Bhed Psyches first. If we win, we're in the finals!" The entire team gawked at him with looks of surprise and disbelief. "That's right, we got seeded! Two wins and we're the champions!" Everyone in the locker room was ecstatic at the welcomed surprise.

"Looks like you guys finally get some luck!" Lauren threw her arm around Tidus' neck. "And with this blitz ace you guys are sure to wipe the smug smiles off the Goers' faces!"

"He has shown us he's got skills but now the only thing to find out is if he can apply them to the actual game, ya?" Wakka said drawing a somewhat annoyed look from Tidus.

"Hey, now you think that I can't play?" He exclaimed, removing Lauren's arm from around his shoulders.

Wakka laughed. "Calm down brudda, I was just messin' with ya." Tidus seemed to calm down a bit and forgive Wakka. "Okay! Now we got to go back over the basics if we are going to win this thing." The team huddled and began to recite the basics as the door opened once again, only this time Yuna appeared.

"There you are! Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a cafe!" She directed the statement as Tidus.

"Au-Auron?" Tidus and Lauren inquired in unison.

"Yes, Sir Auron! Let's go find him!" Yuna quickly whiled around and rushed out the locker room door. Tidus and Lauren followed suit but Wakka still had to say something.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like real soon! C-Come back quick, ya?" He shouted as Tidus and Lauren passed through the doorway and into the hallway where Yuna waited for them.

The three of them rush out of the hallway of the locker rooms and up the stairs into the main lobby. Tidus saw two Al Bhed speaking together and stopped to talk with them but soon caught back up with the two girls. Out of the stadium Yuna ran ahead of Lauren and Tidus but was soon ensnared by a great multitude of people. She pleaded for them to let her make her way through and soon they parted for her to move on pass and into the city marketplace. Lauren and Tidus caught up with the young summoner after wading through the throngs of people that Yuna passed through quite easily.

"There's the café!" Lauren pointed towards a large dark brown wooden door set back in an alley like path with a large colorful sign above it that red 'Café'. The three of them hurried off towards the thick wooden door leading into the café to find Auron.

Once inside the café the three of them glance around looking for the man in the big red coat with sunglasses. With no luck in their searches the three teens let out a heavy, depressed sigh and meander about the café. Kimahri found his way over to two Ronso that were considerably larger than he. Tidus strode over to stand next to Kimahri as the two larger Ronso began to taunt their smaller counterpart.

"Why not talk, Kimahri?" Kimahri stood like a stone sentinel without answering. "Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something!" Kimahri still stood there, unwavering. "Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?" Yenke queried the smaller Ronso of the three.

"Leave Kimahri, Yenke." Biran said with an evil smile on his muzzle. "Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces." He taunted.

"Kimahri forget Ronso friends? We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso." Yenke laughed at Kimahri.

"Maybe taught too much." Tidus leaned over and whispered something in Kimahri's ear drawing an evil laugh from Yenke. Kimahri bend his knees down and then shot back up to stand full height while brining his right arm up in an uppercut move striking Yenke in the jaw, casting him to the floor.

"Take it outside!" The man behind the counter of the café hollered at the Ronso. "The tournament's starting, you hear?" Three fourths of the people within the café tilted their gazes upon the big flat screen monitor that had the broadcast of the blitzball tournament on.

Maester Mika appears on the screen and begins to give one of his intensively long speeches to the public. Lauren tunes out the old man's speech and glances around the café in search of Yuna. "Hey Tidus? Where did Yuna go?" The blitz ace rapidly surveyed the café and shrugged. "We gotta go find her!" Lauren ran out the door to the café, Tidus and Kimahri following suit.

In the marketplace just outside the café Lulu came running up to the two teens and the Ronso. "Where in Spira have you been?" Lauren and Tidus looked confused. "Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches. In return for her safe return, they want the Aurochs to lose."

"What!" Lauren shouted at the top of her lungs. "How could they do something so down right dirty!"

"If they're only blitzball players, I doubt they'd do anything drastic. But we shouldn't take chances. Let's go get her." Lauren and Tidus nodded in agreement and took off after the black mage, Kimahri following closely behind.

As they wrapped around to the side and the back of the blitzball stadium, the group encountered a few machina scouts. Tidus dealt the first blow by severing one of the machinas' heads off, sparks flying out of the lose, and severed wires. Lulu sent a blot of lightning leaping off of her fingertips and right into the chest area of one of the machina scouts. The machina started to convulse as its arms began to slide out of their sockets and its head blew off from the overload of electricity. Lauren took out another of the small machina by impaling the thing in the lower torso area and brought her katana up through the remainder of its body. Kimahri batted at one with his long spear knocking it into the wall directly to his right, shattering the machina to dozens of pieces.

After the initial encounter with the machina, they did not meet anymore for a while. As they proceeded down the circling pathways towards dock number four they came across a screen fixed to the wall with the blitzball game on. Wakka had just caught the ball and was going to start dribbling it down the field when a Al Bhed come out of nowhere and tackled him hard with a spinning tackle. The announcers made some almost rude comments about him and then the game continues.

"C'mon Wakka, stay in the game!" Lauren hollered at the screen.

"He won't last. Wakka's always like that." Lulu stated bluntly. Tidus and Lauren looked at her oddly and then back at the screen to see Wakka get back into he game but he was moving rather slow from all his injuries. "Let's go." She hastily ordered, taking off at a power walking pace, Lauren, Tidus and Kimahri following closely behind.

The four of them finally reached the number four dock where the Al Bhed were holding Yuna ransom. Instead of finding the Al Bhed standing on the dock or on their ship they found the ship slowly sailing away. Tidus took the lead in running after the ship followed by Kimahri then Lauren and finally Lulu. They leapt onto the ship right as it pulled away from the last remaining portion of the dock. Once upon the deck the four of them scout out the ship deck and find no traces of Yuna.

"Where could they be holding her?" Lauren queried scanning over the ship once more. "In the cargo hold maybe?" And with that the big square of textured metal in the middle of the deck began to move, bringing up a machina with tripod legs and two huge grinder like columns applied on the top within two arm like things.

"How are we supposed to fight something like that!" Lauren practically shouted in terror.

"Just like how we fought the smaller ones back on the docks." Lulu said calmly

Tidus rushed at the machina low to the ground and to its right but it turned on him and launched a blitzball out of the center of the two grinder like things. The blitzball struck him in the chest sending him sailing back toward were he had started and where his friends stood. He regained his footing and charged at the oblitzerator once more, only this time he got his sword planted nicely into the machina's rounded center area. The wound shot out sparks that made Tidus leap away from it quickly to avoid being burned.

Kimahri was the next one to join into the fray. He plunged his long spear into a section below the grinder thing on the left. The grinder began to convulse and sparks shot everywhere but it was soon back up to spinning around and launched a blitzball at the mighty Ronso with the aid of its right counterpart. The ball struck Kimahri square in the face and sent him stumbling back a few feet, almost causing him to lose his balance. He tried to impale the machina again but it just spewed out a barrage of blitzballs at him and halted any further movement.

Lauren snuck around behind the oblitzerator while her friends combated it in the front, completely distracting it away from her. She climbed atop its back and slashed wildly with her katana at the spot where the two arm like things joined in the back. The gashes emitted a shower of sparks all over itself and Lauren. She franticly batted at the sparks as they began to land upon her clothes and her flesh. Luckily none of the sparks that landed on her stayed hot for to long so they didn't burn holes in her clothes or flesh. The machina was now completely aware of her presence upon its back and violently flicked its body forward. The resulting jostle sent Lauren soaring through the air and into a large crane that sat at the right side of the ship. She slid down the side of the crane and landed on her neck which quickly gave way to let her body fall without damaging her neck.

Lulu fired off an arched lighting blot from her curved fingers into the center of the machina. The machina recoiled from the blast but it seemed to do little to no damage to the massive machina. Immediately after it was stuck with the lightning bolt, the oblitzerator fired off a consecutive hail of blitzballs toward the black mage. She ran from side to side and ducked under most of the blitzballs but there were several that struck her causing her to stagger about the deck.

Lauren and Tidus made a joint attack that went for the machina's tripod like legs. Tidus went to the left and Lauren went to the right as they unwaveringly charged the oblitzerator. It opened fire upon Lauren but she was soon out of the firing range of the center of the machina. Tidus went the entire distance between where he was and the oblitzerator without getting shot at. Once out of sight of the machina, the two blonde teens went to work on the legs. They hacked up the legs with slashes from their swords in all different angles and strengths, yet none seemed to do much damage to the machina.

"Try that crane, it may help us some!" Lulu shouted from her safe hiding spot behind some of the crates that stood on the stern of the Al Bhed ship.

Tidus took his concentration away from the oblitzerator's legs and rushed off to inspect the crane placed on the right side of the ship deck. Lauren played as decoy by running out in front of it and pacing around the deck as Tidus examined the crane. "There's no power!" Tidus screamed from the seat of the crane operations. Lulu looked over and saw a small rod jutting out from the crane that should be connected to the power core.

"Get off Tidus! I'm going to use a lightning spell to give it some juice!" Lulu waited for Tidus to leap out of the operator's chair. When he was completely clear of the crane and off aiding Lauren as decoy she fired another of her lightening spells off her fingertips. The crane jolted as the high electricity of the lightning bolt struck the rod and surged into the power core. "Now try it!"

Tidus rushed back over to the crane, once again leaving Lauren to distract the oblitzerator alone. He hopped into the control seat and flipped a switch that fired up the engine. He pulled on a few of the levers and soon he found out the right levers to pull and poised the crane right above the machina. The crane dropped and gripped its tight steel claws to the two grinders atop the machina and heaved them up into the air. The crane moved over off the side of the ship and released the grinders into the ocean.

Once the grinders were off, the machina was easy prey for the four of them. Tidus and Lauren rushed in low and both hacked at one of its legs, severing it at the weak joint. Lulu fired a rapid succession of lightning bolts into the large circular hole that was left from the removal of the grinders. After Lulu stopped her rapid fire of lightning, Kimahri stuck his spear into the ship deck and propelled himself into the air. He plummeted through the clear ocean air and planted his spearhead into the open hole Lulu had blow with her magic. The oblitzerator buckled and fell to the deck, convulsing the entire time. The platform it was on fell down into the depths of the ship's hold and the metal doors shielding it slid shut for safe passage across the deck.

A metal door swooshed open on the opposite side of the ship deck, leading out from the cabin. Yuna appeared in the doorway as the door was soon gone and an Al Bhed fell out from behind her. "I hope you hurt them." Lulu stated bluntly.

"A little." Tidus seemed kind of sad at the sight of the unconscious Al Bhed. "What is it?" She turned to the blitz ace.

"There were these Al Bhed that saved my life when I first came to Spira. They took me on their ship, even gave me food. I was kinda hoping this was the same ship." He seemed even more depressed. "But it's not. I wonder if they're all gone."

"What happened?" Lauren butted into the conversation between the two.

"Sin came up near us. I made it out okay, but I don't know what happened to their ship." Tidus bowed his head.

"Don't worry Tidus. I'm sure they're okay." Lauren attempted to cheer him up.

"Um, was there anyone called Cid on that ship?" Yuna queried after Lauren's encouragement.

"I don't know. They were all speaking that Al Bhed language." Tidus exclaimed. Yuna gazed down at her feet for a moment. "So who's Cid?" The blonde inquired.

"He's my uncle, but I've never actually met him."

"So you're an Al Bhed, too, Yuna?" Lauren piped in.

"On my mother's side, yes. Cid is my mother's brother. He became distant after my mother married. But she told me to seek him out if I ever needed help." The young summoner explained.

Tidus started to say something but Lulu cut him off. "Don't tell Wakka about Yuna's lineage. The thing about Wakka-he never had much love for the Al Bhed."

"Hey guys? Shouldn't we be letting Wakka know that Yuna is safe so they can try to win?" Lauren asked. Lulu cast a fireball into the sky, the signal flare that Yuna had been rescued.

Wakka lay on his back just floating in the water, not being able to move because of his injuries. His eyes locked onto the flare and a sudden rush of energy and determination flooded through him. He got back upright and beckoned for the ball. One of his teammates tossed him the ball through the water right pass one of the Al Bhed players. Wakka received the blitzball and took off down the field, knocking all Al Bhed players that he came into contact with out of the way. He was only fifteen feet away from the goal and dropped the ball into place to be kicked. His foot made contact with the blue and white blitzball and sent it zipping through the water toward the goal. The Al Bhed goalie waved from side to side and then took a dive for the ball. The buzzer went off over the goal as the blitzball skimmed the Al Bhed's fingertips and struck the back of the goal.

The entire audience is stunned. "Unbelievable!" One of the two announcers shouted over the speaker system running throughout the stadium. "The Aurochs win the match. 3 to 2!"

Back in the locker room, the team gathered up as well as with their friends. "You guys won! Now you're in the finals and you can kick the Goers' butts!" Lauren cheered.

"Wakka, are you alright?" Yuna asked shyly.

"Yeah…never been better." He sat up and tried to reach for his blitzball but was crippled with pain instead.

"You shouldn't move Wakka." Lauren stated out of concern for her friend. "You guys can only have six players in a game, right?" They all nodded. Then just have Tidus take your place and don't worry about it."

"Yeah, leave everything to me Wakka." Tidus boasted. "I'll make sure we win and take the cup for Besaid!"

"Okay, okay! I'll just stay here and rest up but you got to promise not to blow it, ya?" Hey lay back down on the benches in the center of the locker room.

"Will do!"

"The game is about to start, you better get out there." Yuna hurried them along.

"Good luck you guys!" Lauren hollered as the team made their way out of the locker room and into the hall leading up to the stadium.

Before Tidus left the room he shouted back, "Thanks but we don't need luck, I have no intention of letting them win." He boasted as he passed the door frame.

"Let's go watch!" Yuna declared and rushed out the door. Lauren soon followed her out. Lulu and Wakka stayed behind in the locker room.

"This is it, folks! In just a few minutes, the championship game!" One of the announcers declared. Tidus and the Aurochs swim into the sphere of water and prepare for the match ahead. "But who could have imagined... A championship game between these two teams? Our legendary Luca Goers going against...the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!" The crowd is on the edge of their seats.

"This looks like history in the making, Bobba." The second announcer said. Outside of the sphere, a man with a large red coat and sunglasses with jet black hair with a few white marks watches the game.

"They're already going at it, folks! The Goers are taunting the Aurochs!" The buzzer for the game's start sounded and the blitzball is tossed into the center of the pool.

Tidus got the ball first and beckoned for two of the Aurochs to get on his flanks and protect him. The three of them charged down the center of the field in a daring rush. One of the Goers flew out as top speed at Tidus and struck him in the chest with his shoulder, jostling the blitzball out of Tidus' grip and into the grip of the Goer. The two Aurochs on Tidus' flanks jumped the Goer and stole the ball aback away from him. The one Auroch took hold of the ball and dribbled it down the field toward the Goers' goal.

Immediately one of the Goers playing defense lashed out at the Auroch holding the ball and stole it away from him. She then proceeded to rush down the field and then pass the blitzball to the red haired leader of the team, who then took it up the middle. One of the defenders for the Aurochs made an attempt to prevent the Goer's passage but missed him on a tackle. The red haired Goer went about ten feet away from the goal and smashed the ball. The goalie never had a chance to stop the blitzball and the buzzer went off for the goal.

"Awwww! C'mon guys you can do it!" Lauren shouted from standing at the railing within the spectators.

After about another three and a half minutes of constant back and forth game play Tidus got the ball back in his clutches. He charged up the left flank of the goal and didn't stop till he was stopped by two defenders about thirty feet from the goal. He smiled and kicked the ball. It smacked the one defender in the face sending them floating backwards in the water. When the blitzball returned to him, Tidus punched it with his right arm right into the face of the other defender, eliminating all treats. The ball shot up after it struck the player's face and Tidus went up after it. He spun around a bunch of times causing him to roll onto his side. He cam out of the spins and smashed the ball with his left foot sending it hurtling towards the goal. The blitzball zipped past the goalie with little or no time for him to react to it and struck the back of the buzzer right as the halftime buzzer sounded.

"I can't believe it! The new player on the Aurochs has tied up the game for halftime!" The first announcer exclaimed.

"Yeah Bobba, would have never had guessed that their new player would have such skills! Did you see that shot he did? That was the most amazing shot I've ever seen in all my years as a blitzball announcer, am I right Bobba?"

"Indeed, you are Jimma!" The crow started to chant Wakka's name. "But it appears that they want Wakka back out on the field." Tidus heard the chanting and then made his way back toward the door to the locker rooms. Moments later the fans began to cheer.

"Ah! It's Wakka! He's back on the field and ready to go! The Aurochs seem glad to have him back." Bobba stated as Wakka appeared in the pool.

The blitzball is thrown up in the center of the pool and it goes to the red haired leader. He rushed down the middle but was soon stopped by Wakka who struck him hard in the gut with his elbow. He then swam down the entire stretch of the field without getting stopped by any of the Goers. At the net he dropped the ball to his foot and smashed it toward the goal. The goalie was right on tip of it and barred its passage into the net. The game went on like this for some time until it was the last thirty seconds in the match.

"This is it! If one of the teams doesn't make a goal here then the game will be a draw!" Jimma shouted.

Wakka tackled a Goer who held the ball and took it for his own. He then proceeded down toward the Goers' goal. He knocked two of the Goers out of his path with either a stiff arm to the face or an elbow jab. Once down near the goal, he warded off the last of the defenders, besides the goalie, and continued on the shoot the blitzball. The blitzball cut through the water as if there was nothing in its path and zipped right past the goalie's head, striking the back of the goal, setting off the buzzer.

"Unbelievable! The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!" Bobba's voice washed over the entire stadium as Wakka fell back and floated peacefully in the water. Tidus came out of the locker room and swam right next to Wakka. Wakka casually rose up his head and gave Tidus a thumbs up which the blitz ace returned.

Just as Tidus and Wakka were about to leave the pool to go back to the locker room a few fish fiends came out of nowhere and assailed them. Wakka gripped the winning blitzball and hurled it at one of the fish fiend's head. It jerked and slowly began to drift to the bottom of the pool, pyreflies leaking out of it on its journey downward. Tidus swam back to the locker room door and retrieved his sword and then proceeded back to aid Wakka in fending off their attackers.

Tidus came up from behind one of the fish fiends as Wakka took out another with his blitzball. Tidus slashed at the fiend in a downward motion at the middle of its back, severing it cleanly in half. The pyreflies leaked out of the fiend's dead body as another fiend burst through the fog of pyreflies and bit Tidus' arm. He punched it in the nose making it release his arm from its jaws and then slashed at it with his blade. The agile fish fiend eluded the strikes from Tidus and swam around behind him. The young blitz ace spun around, carrying the momentum of his sword with him. His sword struck the fish fiend in the side and split it in half, pyreflies leaking out just as all the other fiends did before.

After all the fish fiends were destroyed, cries of terror shot out from the crowd as fiends began to appear. Tidus and Wakka swam hastily back to the locker room door and rushed up the stairs and out onto the balconies to fight the fiends. Lauren drew her katana and began to battle the fiends around her, Yuna helping out by trying to calm people down and healing her combating friend. Lulu appeared on the balcony where Lauren and Yuna were and began to help Lauren fend off the fiends around them.

A few of the agile coyote fiends tore down the stairs to upper levels of the balconies toward Lauren. The fiends leapt upon her as they drew close enough to be able to make the leap and assail their prey. She stepped to the side of each of the fiends as they passed through the air toward her. The fiends rounded around right behind the blonde teen as their paws struck the concrete behind her. She whirled around, sword smashing into one of the fiends as it made an attempt at her life. The other ones jumped onto her and knocked her to the hard ground, bashing her head on the concrete splattering a small splotch of blood through her golden hair.

Lulu ignited a luminous orb of red-orange flame upon her outstretched right hand and surged magical energy into it. She trained her arm at the few fiends that surrounded Lauren and released the orb from her grasp. The flame orb struck the fiends on their sides and blew them off the balcony and into the blitzball pool. The black mage hurried over to Lauren and signaled Yuna to come over to heal the minor wound on the back of Lauren's head. The white mage slash summoner swiftly ran over to where her two friends were, but was cut off by a small flying fiend. She batted furiously at the hovering fiend with her summoning rod but it had no affect on the fiend at all. Lulu stood and concentrated on the bird fiend. Out of nowhere a sphere of water engulfed the fiend and flung it into the seats to the right of Yuna.

Yuna finally made her was to Lauren's side and aimed her rod at her and sent the white healing aura sailing into the blonde's body. "Are you alright Lauren?" She asked inquisitively after the spell had enough time to take full affect.

"Yeah…" Lauren sat up and the stood upon her feet. "It wasn't that much of a wound, but your magic made the dull pain go away so, thanks." Yuna bowed. "Okay! Let's get going and find the others."

"Right!" Yuna agreed and took off after Lauren down the paths in search of their other friends.

Tidus and Wakka were found almost half way around the stadium combating a colossal flying fiend alongside a man in a thick red coat. Wakka hurled his blitzball into the fiend's head causing it to let out a shrill cry of pain as the blitzball sprung back to its master. Auron charged the fiend with his massive sword settled on his right shoulder. He swung his blade in a downward horizontal slash come from the right. The fiend batted its massive wings downward at the former guardian and evaded his deadly blade stroke. The fiend then came back down toward Auron; its teeth gnashed and plummeted from the azure sky at him.

Auron leapt to the side as the massive bird fiend plunged onto the ground, whirling around in a circle as soon as its talons made contact with the concrete. Its enormous tail swatted at Auron, smacking him in the head with all the momentum of its body. His gigantic sword flew through the air, the wind rushing over the blade made it sing, and then landed on the ground about twenty feet away with a clattering noise. The bird fiend finished its revolution and hopped over to where Auron was on the ground, weaponless.

Tidus leapt at the now grounded bird fiend, brotherhood drawn up into the sky above his head glistening in the sun's rays. Brotherhood plunged into the fiend's supple flesh on its back in between its twin massive, leathery wings. The blade sank into the fiend's flesh about a foot; however, it did not cause much damage to the colossal flying fiend. It batted its right wing where Tidus stood; his blade still submerged in the fiend's back, and launched him into the air. The blonde haired blitz ace grappled the railing lining the inside of the stadium, but then let go, gently dropping himself onto the lower level.

Lauren reached the fray and rushed up to the fiend's tail and began hacking relentlessly at the stubby, fat tail. Crimson colored blood sprayed out of the severed section of tail, the other, disconnected part wriggling on the ground restlessly. The fiend let out a howl of maddening pain that caused everyone within earshot of the bellow to cover their ears instantaneously. It swiveled to face the one that had just amputated its tail and lashed out with its long neck, razor sharp teeth protruding from its jaws. The blonde teen forward rolled, eluding the fiend's all out attack causing it to bite down on the steel railing instead of her flesh.

Auron, now standing with his massive sword nestled on his right shoulder charged the fiend while it was focused on Lauren. He bore down his immense blade into the fiend's back in the same wound Tidus had slashed open. The momentum of Auron and his word pressed the blade all the way up to the hilt into the fiend's body. It let out a shrill cry of agony and made attempts at moving but only collapsed to the ground every time it made an effort to move. Finally the fiend disintegrated into a mass of pyreflies which floated off aimlessly into the afternoon sky.

As Lauren was about to say something a dozen more fiends leapt out and assailed the group. Maester Seymour casually waltzed onto the platform from which Maester Mika had given his speech and overlooked the stadium. It was now overrun with fiends, patrons screaming out in terror as various fiends plunged upon them.

"Anima! Come to me!" The Maester shouted over the chaos unfolding around him. A massive dark chain shot down from the sky as if it came through a different dimension. Then it buried itself into the floor through what appeared to be a black and purple portal to the same dimension it had come from. The chain lurched and then came to a halt. But only for a moment and then it gave another lurch and started back up as though it were fishing something out with it. The chain pulled out along with it by another chain a large demonic looking fish head with bandages running along from the middle of its head to the top and that only had one devilish eye glaring around at its surroundings. As the rest of the monster was dragged out of its dimension it revealed what looked like massive plant leaves that appeared as though they could cover up the monstrosity. Its arms were bound together in an 'X' fashion across its chest with two white cloth appearing streamers. The thing stopped coming out from its dimension at the point where it looked like there was still something it didn't expose.

Anima glared around at the dozens of fiends running amuck in the stadium and began to charge up for an attack from its only visible eye. Its head jerked back, firing an almost unseen force that struck one of the flying fiends, blowing it to shreds. The aeon continued to fire these destructive waves at all the fiends in the stadium. Within minutes of it arrival, Anima had successfully eradicated every last fiend that lingered in the blitzball stadium. Seymour dismissed the mighty aeon and then walked back to a door that led to the inside of the stadium where Maester Mika had been taken, leaving behind a stadium of cheering fans.

"Holy crap!" Lauren exclaimed after the aeon and Seymour disappeared from sight. "That aeon was so powerful! It totally demolished all the fiends in nearly a minute!"

Tidus came up a flight of stairs to the group's right. "I still don't trust the guy. He seemed to have another purpose besides saving everyone." Wakka nearly pounced on him.

"How can you say something like that about a Maester? It's against the teachings!" The orange haired blitzer hollered.

"I have to agree with Tidus on this one." Lauren butted in. "I juts don't have a good feeling about this guy, and sure his aeon was powerful, but did you see how evil and disturbing it looked?"

"But….but…it's a Maester…the teachings!" He stuttered.

"Let it go." Auron commanded. "We can talk about Seymour later. Right now we must focus on Yuna's pilgrimage."

"I agree with Sir Auron. We must not delay." Yuna bowed to the former guardian.

"All of you except Tidus may go and finish up your business in town." Auron stated.

"But why me? What did I do?" Tidus hollered, apparently a little angered.

Auron chuckled to himself. "Absolutely nothing, but I must speak with you. Follow." He commanded, walking off toward a gate leading down to the docks. Tidus realized there would be no sense in protesting and trailed the former guardian. The rest of the group headed into town where they finished up gathering supplies, fighting off hordes of fans, or saying goodbye to good friends.

Lauren stood resting on a railing overlooking a pathway up a few flights of stairs that then turned to a path leading the opposite way. Wakka had just gotten back from saying goodbye to his teammates and friends and they were waiting on Auron and Tidus. After ten more minutes of waiting Lauren caught a glimpse of the red coated guardian and the blonde haired blitz wiz. She waved to them but neither waved back, Tidus kept his gaze focused on the ground as if depressed by something.

When the two men walked up to her, Lauren spoke. "What's the matter with you, Tidus?" He didn't look up.

"That is not important now. What is is that we get Yuna's pilgrimage moving." Auron pushed past Lauren, almost dragging her with him.

As they walked along the path they finally came across the rest of their party. Auron went right up to stand in front of Yuna. "Sir Auron?" She inquired as the former guardian stood there like a stone.

"Yuna." She nodded 'yes'. "I wish to become your guardian. Do you accept?" He queried drawing an amazed look from everyone present.

"You serious?' Wakka almost shouted.

"You refuse?"

"No, no!" Yuna stammered. "We accept! Right, everyone?" She exclaimed.

"O-Of course! No problem at all!" Wakka stammered at first but was then practically shouting his answer.

"But...why?" Lulu questioned, drawing the guardian's stare.

"I promised Braska." Auron calmly and quickly explained.

"You promised my father?" Auron nodded. "Thank you, Sir Auron! You're welcome to join us!" She bowed graciously.

"And…he comes too." He shoved Tidus forward, awkwardly. "This one I promised Jecht."

"Is Sir Jecht alive?" The young summoner inquired.

"Can't say. Haven't seen him in ten years."

"I...see." Yuna bowed her head.

"You'll meet eventually." Auron affirmed.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it!"

Auron then turned to Lulu. "What's our itinerary? Where are we headed?" He asked the black mage. As she elaborated on their destination Yuna and Tidus walked over to the railing and began to whistle and practice smiling. Then they broke out into odd laughter that echoed off the walls in the direction they laughed at.

"Are you two okay?" Lauren asked out of concern for her friend's sanity.

The two looked at each other and giggled. "Yeah, we're fine." They responded in unison.

"That reminds me." Auron stalked over to Lauren. "She comes too." Everyone looked at him oddly but accepted for they had no problem with Lauren being a guardian.

"Well then, alright. Now, we will go to the temple of Djose. And guardians? Don't forget to smile!" Yuna and Tidus giggled between each other as they proceeded up the last stairs and onto a dirt road that stretched on for miles.


	5. Trouble on the Road to Djose

Chapter Five: Trouble on the Road to Djose

**Spira'sSentry**: Thanks for the quick review man! You did it in like less than forty five minutes after I posted it! And I love that you think it's cool that I am making another story alongside the FFX story line, that's what this fic is all about.

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: I plan to read your fics sometime in the near future so expect some reviews from me soon. Yeah, Seymour is really creepy in the game so why fight it, plus I want to make all the characters hate him, 'cuz I hate him and I think he should rot in hell for all eternity, too bad that there is no hell in Spira, maybe I'll make one just for him.

**Mtbanger**: Welcome to this fic man! I hope you like this one a lot too and you will find that I have some awesome fight scenes like in my other fic. I hope something 'disastrous' doesn't happen to you or anything or anyone around you to prevent you from reading. And that's a shame that you don't like the name 'cuz I like it, obviously, and you're gonna have to deal with it the rest of the fic.

**dark dragon knight1993**: I'm very, very, very glad that you like my fic so much! See, I told you I would break away from it more, it was just the first few chapters so like I said I didn't know where I was going exactly, but now I know more. Yeah, sorry for the long wait, like I said I got addicted to C-S and that can take some time to get over. Anyway, here is chapter five, with less delay then the previous chapter!

The expanse of dirt road that was laid out before them stretched on for as far as the eye could see. A few trees and other assorted plants lined the banks of the extensive, dirt road, obstructing the group's view in several places where the road tended to twist. On the left bank of the dusty road, there stood an old, rusted statue of a man clad in knight like armor with a gigantic spearhead shaped sword sticking into a defeated foe. Along both banks were ruins that dotted the horizon, following the outline of the winding highroad. Only a few people walked among the miles of extensive dusty road, either milling around aimlessly as if on a peaceful hike or doing a somewhat more aimed path as if they wanted to get to where they were going in quite a hurry.

"Whoa…" Lauren scanned over the vast expanse of dirt road. "…what is this place?" She asked to no one in particular as she glazed around in awe at the sight of the highroad.

"This is the Mi'ihen Highroad." Lulu pointed out. "It is a large road that connects Luca to the Djose temple at the end of the road and then to the moonflow at the fork in the road at the temple. Many people use it to travel to the temple or to cross the moonflow to go on to towns on the other bank like the capitol Bevelle, where the Maesters reside." The black mage elaborated on the existence of the highroad.

"Cool." Lauren exclaimed. "But how are we supposed to get across it quickly?" She queried.

"We walk." Auron stated bluntly, taking off on the highroad at his usual pace.

"But isn't that gonna take a really long time? I thought we had to rush because of Yuna's pilgrimage." Lauren appeared confused, gawking after the striding guardian.

"Then we walk fast." Auron said sarcastically, cocking his head over his shoulder to look upon the blonde teen.

"Fine, whatever…" Lauren threw her hand up in defeat and began to take up chase on after the ancient guardian.

After a while of walking down the seemingly endless span of dirt road, the group came upon an old man with glasses and a tall hat. They spoke with him, but only briefly. The old man told them about some ancient ruins and that they could seek his advice anytime than they came upon the same path. Soon after speaking with the white bearded man, the group hastily moved onward down the road, wanting to get to their objective as soon as possible.

As Lauren and her friends sauntered on down the highroad they spoke with a few of the travelers, some of them giving Yuna items to help her along on her pilgrimage. Lauren was getting a bit worn out from walking such a distance in such a short amount of time, regardless of the fact that they were under constant fiend attack. The fiend battles got a little easier after each member of the group finally realized which types of fiends they personally were good at slaying. The first time they encountered a hard shelled fiend, Tidus and Lauren made an attempt to slay it but their blades only bounced off its rigid outer shell. Auron made them stand aside and he took one swing with his massive blade, severing the fiend straight in half.

A few moments after their meeting with the old scholar, Lauren and her friends encountered three people ridding on chocobos. "Lady Summoner, I presume?" The apparent commanding officer of the three rode forth and stopped right in front of Yuna. She had long red hair with a blue band running across her forehead, holding her hair to the sides of her tanned face.

"Yes, I am Yuna." The young, honey brown haired summoner strode forward and did her usual polite bow.

"I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights." The red haired, tanned skinned rider spoke proudly.

"And I'm Elma. We've been charged to guard the Highroad." The second rider stated, also with a bit of pride in her voice. She had mid length brunet hair with a rather wide brown leather like band wrapping around her forehead with two little strings of beads dangling off. Unlike her superior, Elma had light skin and had more of a short skirt like garment attached to the rest of her red clothes instead of a green one piece bathing suit under her attire.

"There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos." Lucil said, drawing odd looks from everyone. "Do take care, Summoner Yuna, if you are to rent any chocobos." She warned.

"Thank you. We will be careful." Yuna said softly and politely as she made the gestures for the Yevon prayer.

"Good. We should get back to our rounds. Farewell." Lucil said before motioning for her squad to get back to making their rounds to ensure the highroad is safe.

"A large fiend..." Tidus restated. "…let's go get him!" She shouted to the whole group.

"Why?" Auron queried in his usual quick and short manner.

"It's the right thing to do." Tidus declared, drawing a slight laugh from the ancient guardian. "What'd I say now?" The blonde blitz ace inquired angrily.

"Jecht said that a lot, too. And every time he said it, it meant trouble for Braska and me." Auron elaborated on the reasoning behind his laughter.

"I agree with Tidus." Lauren stepped in, after not saying much since the beginning of their trek down the Mi'ihen highroad. "I think we should go and get it so that no one else has to suffer because of it. I mean, we got the means to do it, all we need now is to find the thing and end its reign of terror."

"Lauren has a very good point." Yuna backed her friend up. "I say let's destroy it to protect the people on this highroad." The young summoner turned to face all of her friends. "Is everyone alright with that?" Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri nodded. "Sir Auron?"

"As you wish." He stated briefly.

After their deliberation, the group moved on down the extensive Mi'ihen highroad once again. As they proceeded down the highroad they came upon a little girl and her mother. Yuna talked with the little girl and the mother about something called the calm that both Tidus and Lauren seemed a little more then lost on. The little girl skipped off after conversing with Yuna, her mother following closely behind her.

"So, what is the 'calm' that you were talking about with the girl and her mother?" Lauren broke the silence that followed the retreat of the little girl and her mother.

"The Calm is a time of peace. It comes after a summoner defeats Sin, and lasts until Sin reappears." Lulu explained from her relaxed spot near Yuna.

"I see…" Lauren trailed off. "But if Sin just comes back, is it really worth it to go through all this hassle with the pilgrimage and so on?" The blonde teen inquired.

"Don't say it isn't worth it... Because it is." Yuna sounded like Lauren had just killed all hope in Spira, yet she was determined that there was still some hope left.

"Okay, no reason to get all defensive like that Yuna." Lauren said calmly. "I was just asking what the point in it exactly is if Sin just comes back after ten years and then another summoner has to go through the same thing as the previous." She walked up to Yuna and placed her right hand on the summoner's left shoulder comfortingly. "Remember Yuna, I'm on your side."

"The whole reason for the pilgrimage is for summoners to get the final aeon and defeat Sin to bring on the ten year calm. Bringing the calm is the most important thing that I can do with my life. To help others and bring happiness, even for just ten years, is still worth it all and will bring meaning to my life. I will have felt like I have done something for all the peoples of Spira, like my father before me. Everyone regards him as a great hero but I'm not just in it to be just like my father, I'm in it to help people. Defeating Sin is all I can do and I hope to accomplish that soon with all your help." Yuna finished up a little speech, barely visible tears rolling down her face from her bi-colored eyes.

"Yuna…" Lauren looked into the summoner's eyes. "I will do all I can to ensure that you finish your pilgrimage and defeat Sin to bring the calm." Lauren unsheathed her katana and held it out in one hand. "Besides, I am getting a lot better at fighting fiends so I should be able to deal with them easily." She sheathed her katana.

"You still have much to learn about fighting." Auron stated bluntly, walking past the two teens.

"Sheesh Auron!" Lauren complained as the guardian strode past. "Why do you have to ruin everything?" The ancient guardian pivoted on his heel and gawked at the teen questioningly. "I was trying to cheer Yuna up and say that I was behind her all the way and you come and make it seem like I'm helpless to protect her. What's up with that!" Auron merely grunted and spun back around, carrying on strolling down the highroad.

Everyone followed after Auron rather quickly except for Lauren who hung back form a moment before catching up after her friends. They fought some fiends on this stretch of road. A few lizards and a flying fiend and two hard shelled fiends blitzed Lauren and her friends but they were hastily dealt with and were no problem at all for the group of fighters. A little later on down the highroad they came across a few familiar faces adding a cart heading towards Mushroom Rock.

"Hey, we saw the game! You guys are great!" Gatta shouted to Wakka and Tidus as they drew closer to the cart and its protectors.

"Congratulations, Wakka!" Luzzu congratulated Wakka on winning the crystal cup for Besaid. Wakka nodded his thanks right before the chocobo knights showed up to press them on with their work.

"Hey! Stop loafing around!" Elma rode up upon her armor clad chocobo with Lucil following closely behind her on another of the armor clad chocobos.

"Uh... The lady summoner and her guardians..." Gatta managed to stammer to his superior.

"This mission requires our full attention. We've no time to waste!" Lucil made it clear that they could not loiter for any amount of time or the mission would be in jeopardy. "Understood?" She asked right after she explained that they had no time to waste.

"Yes, ma'am! Apologies, ma'am!" Luzzu bowed to his superior officer and apologized for any inconveniences their stopping had inflicted on her or their mission.

"Carry on." Lucil said before motioning for her and Elma to hurry on to wherever they were headed.

"See? Keep your head down, say "sir" a lot, and you'll do fine." Luzzu told Gatta. He nodded. "Hey, Yuna. Even though Yevon rejected us...we still believe in you. That won't ever change." The red haired crusader showed Yuna his belief in her.

"Thank you, Sir Luzzu, Sir Gatta. But, you know... It's not too late for you to go back to Besaid, and..." Yuna did her usual polite little bow in front of Luzzu.

"We should be going, sir!" Gatta said to Luzzu and he nodded.

"Farwell for now Lady Yuna." Luzzu said goodbye before leading the cart the two were escorting down the road.

"I wonder what kind of mission Lucil was talking about." Lauren wondered aloud.

"We are going in the same direction, we will meet up with them and you can ask them yourself." Auron declared before leading the group once again down the dusty Mi'ihen highroad.

Even farther down the Mi'ihen highroad they met a disciple of Yevon named Shelinda. They spoke with her after a guard of the crusaders left saying something about they will defeat Sin even if they have to break the teachings. Shelinda, being the devout little follower of Yevon, was angered that they would break the teachings even if it was to rid Spira of Sin once and for all. She said that they were going to be using forbidden machina in the upcoming operation to stop Sin once and for all. She also felt helpless because none of them would listen to her for what she could only think of was because she was only a lowly acolyte. Yuna encouraged her that she wasn't worthless and instilled hope in the heart of the devout follower. Shelinda bid them farewell and said something about her being able to continue her training thanks to Yuna and left.

Lauren and her friends picked up their trail once again, which finally led them to a little Al Bhed shop with a chocobo corral stationed right next to it where people could rent chocobos. "We rest here." Auron said boldly, stopping in front of the little Al Bhed shop. Wakka's mouth dropped open and just gawked at the ancient guardian.

"But, this is an Al Bhed shop!" The orange haired blitz player whined.

"Is that a problem?" Auron turned to face the blitzer.

"They don't believe in Yevon," Wakka exclaimed. "and in Luca they... They kidnapped Yuna!" He began to walk away form the group when a firm hand grasped his left shoulder. He whiled around and batted the hand off his shoulder to see that it was Lauren's hand.

"C'mon Wakka." She said softly. "Even if they don't believe in something that you do doesn't mean that they are bad people." The blonde teen tried to make Wakka accept the Al Bhed's beliefs.

"Yeah Wakka, lighten up and just forget that they don't believe in Yevon and only think of them as other people and give them the same respects u would give anyone else." Tidus tried to calm his friends mind with some of the brightest words he had ever said so far on their trek.

"Even so, I'm not tired one bit!" He exclaimed turning back around to stroll away from the Al Bhed shop as well as his friends.

"Well I am." Auron walked off towards the door to the Al Bhed shop and opened up the metal door.

"I'm a little tired myself." Lauren said, taking off after the ancient guardian into the shop. The rest of the group followed closely behind the blonde teen, even Wakka, after much resistance.

Once inside the shop they each got a separate room and they each retreated to it to get some rest except for Kimahri, who stood guard outside Yuna's room. Lauren unlocked her room and proceeded in and took off her orange and black sweatshirt and slipped into the comfortable cotton sheets laced on the bed. She fell asleep almost instantaneously as her head rested upon the soft pillow, the sheets wrapped around her body.

That night she had a dream at she was with Brian right before he died. It played out exactly like what had really happened only this time since it was a dream she saw him actually get shot. Pain flooded through her heart and she shot up in her bed rapidly at the terrifying sights and feelings. She was breathing hard as if she had just run ten miles; cold sweat condensed on her chilled skin and dampened her clothes. "Brian!" She called out into the silent night, but quickly covered her mouth as soon as she realized where she was and what time it must have been.

She gazed around the room still stunned from her dream and listened carefully for any signs that her cry had awoke anyone. Calming down, she stood up off the bed and began to pace about the room, thinking. 'What is wrong with me? I thought I was over this. What is it about this place that keeps flooding my thoughts with images of his face and the last time we were together?' Tears began to roll down her already chilled checks, making them even colder to the touch.

A soft rapping on the door brought Lauren back out of her thoughts and back into the world around her. "Who is it?" Without a word the door slid open slowly and Auron stepped into the teen's room. "What do you want?" She asked trying to keep her voice from sounding harsh.

"We train." The ancient guardian said bluntly, plucking Lauren's katana from its resting position up against the wall next to the door and tossing it to her.

Lauren caught the katana awkwardly and gazed at the guardian inquisitively. "Do you know what time it is? And why I'm I the only one that needs to train? Tidus seems like he needs it more than I do." The blonde teenager protested.

"You are not ready for your destiny that lies ahead of you, therefore you must train. You are lucky that I am doing this at all, usually I charge for lessons, but I must do this." Auron explained leaving some key information out of his explanation. "Now, come." He strode out of the door leaving Lauren to gawk after him for a moment before she finally gave in and chased after him.

Outside behind the Al Bhed shop, Auron awaited Lauren's arrival which finally came a moment after he stopped and began waiting. "Now, try to hit me." He said calmly.

"Are you serious?" Lauren exclaimed in disbelief.

"Do it." He commanded.

"Okay, but if you get hurt then don't blame me." She rushed the ancient guardian. She brought her blade in from the side at neck level with all her strength and speed behind it. Auron simply smiled and then at the last second ducked under the blade with inconceivable skill and speed. He popped back up after Lauren's katana blade had passed over his head and looked at her disappointed.

"You will have to do better than that if you wish to hit me." He taunted taking out his massive blade. "For every attack I dodge I get to attack you and visa versa." He charged her with his massive blade dragging beside him.

"What are you doing!" Lauren hollered as Auron drew closer and closer with his colossal blade posed to strike. "Are you TRYING to kill me!" The guardian clad in the red coat grunted and continued on his charge. He brought his blade up form the ground, ripping up several feet of earth in a strait line. Lauren preformed a frontward roll that allowed her to evade the oncoming blade with much ease and with time to spare.

"Seems it is your turn." Auron backed off and prepared to evade a blow from the learning teen.

Lauren reluctantly charged the ancient guardian, her katana out to her side and trained down. She leapt into the air only a few feet in front of Auron and came down upon him like a rock plummeting from the sky.

Auron sidestepped the desperate assault by Lauren allowing her blade to dig itself into the ground quite a few inches. "My turn." He took his blade up like a left handed baseball player and swung his massive blade at Lauren, who was desperately attempting to wrench her blade out of the ground. She saw the blade coming but yet could do nothing and just kneeled there, still trying to yank her katana free from the soil. At the last second Auron flipped his blade to the flat side and slowed down the momentum of his swing quite a lot. The flat side of Auron's sword smashed into Lauren's side sending her off balance and back a few feet.

Getting up slowly and rubbing her side, Lauren glared angrily at Auron. "What was that for Auron?" She gripped the hilt of her katana which had been knocked lose from the ensnarement of the soil from the guardian's blow.

"You missed." Was his only reply, shouldering his colossal blade once more and waited for Lauren to take her turn.

Lauren charged once again at the skilled guardian, her katana poised next to its sheath on the left side of her waist. She whipped out her blade from her side and brought it across her entire body in an upward right diagonal slash. Auron side stepped the blow but Lauren followed up with another slash at Auron's neck, which he also dodged with ease. She whipped the blade back around her head, blade tip pointing down, and brought it back in a downward left diagonal slash. Auron raised his blade in the path of Lauren's katana blade, stopping it in mid swing, sparks flashing off of the two colliding swords.

Auron managed to push back Lauren with the strength of his two muscular arms but she came back at him with another blow. She raised her katana blade back over behind her head; a pallid light began to gather around the blade, illuminating it. Auron cocked his head and opened one eye wider than usual for only a brief moment, examining Lauren and she charged up her attack. She ran up at the ancient guardian and leapt up into the air a few feet above Auron and came down upon him, her katana blade radiating a vibrant pallid glow.

Auron hastily raised his massive blade in front of his face and placed his left hand of the flat side of the blade for extra support. Lauren came down upon him with intense speed and momentum from the sky with her shimmering blade over her head, ready to swing down upon her foe. Her blade smashed into Auron's and sent sparks flying every which way. The ancient guardian could feel himself being pushed back toward the Al Bhed shop and did the only thing he could do to counter the commanding blow dealt by Lauren. He pressed forward with all his strength and finally pushed the assailing blonde teen, a cracking sound ripping through the sound of the two blades grinding on each other.

Lauren flew back about ten feet through the air and smacked her head on a random rock, knocking her uncurious. Auron stood over the unconscious girl and examined his massive blade as its tip rested in the soil near his feet. "Hmmm. Maybe I took this a little too far." He noted a large crack in his blade running the entire length of the blade but then forking off near the tip. "If she can learn to harness that power… then she will be down the right path to fulfill her destiny." Auron took Lauren's katana sheath off her waist and sheathed the katana blade. Then he picked her up off the ground and placed her on his shoulder and carried her back off to her room where he left her for the night.

When she awoke, Lauren had a throbbing head ache and could not concentrate on anything at all. The room spun around in a whirl around the blonde teen and her comfortable bed placed under the window facing the Mi'ihen highroad. Within a few moments the whirling came to an abrupt halt, but her head still felt like she got hit by a train. She stumbled out into the hallway and headed for the shower room, thinking that maybe a nice warm shower may help the ache go away. She let the warm water cascade down her body; a few bruises dotted her smooth skin from the constant fiend fights as well as her training with Auron the night before.

After approximately fifteen minutes, Lauren got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her torso, running halfway down her thighs. She waltzed out through the doorway and across the hall to her room; her head ache had now subsided from her relaxing stay in the shower. As she was getting dressed a cry wafted in on the breeze through the partially cracked open window. Shortly after she head the cry for help someone rapped on the door, it was Yuna.

"Lauren, a fiend is attacking the chocobos and everyone else has gone to fight it." Lauren ran to the door after slipping on her orange and black sweatshirt and turned the knob to rush out to follow Yuna to help their friends.

Outside Lauren hurried along side Yuna, drawing her katana at the sight of the monstrous fiend that her friends were combating. It was just a massive head set upon two thick, muscular legs with arms reaching out from either side of what appeared to be shoulder pad like plates. Its mouth took up almost all of the front side of the head except for its hideous yellow eyes and its stubby nose. A chocobo had just pecked at the fiends fist that is was being carried in a scampered away down the highroad in the direction that the group was headed.

"Things here sure aren't pleasant to look at." Lauren said jokingly to Yuna as they met up with their fighting friends.

Wakka tossed his blitzball through the temperate morning air toward the chocobo eater's head. The blitzball merely ricocheted off and flew away from where Wakka stood poised to retrieve it. He ran over to where his blitzball now lay, evading constant fist pummels by the massive chocobo eating fiend's colossal fists. He finally acquired it just as the fiend whipped around one of its enormous arms right into the blitzer's side. He flew a good thirty feet and landed right in front of Lauren causing her to leap back in surprise.

"I see you finally made it…" Wakka could barely speak as he gazed up at the newly arrived blonde teenager.

"Don't worry Wakka. I'll get him for you." Lauren declared, taking off toward the gigantic chocobo eater.

The chocobo eating fiend turned all its focus on Lauren as she approached from the side. She leapt into the air to evade a fiendish blow cast close to the ground and landed on the fiend's other muscular arm. The fiend attempted to shake off its passenger but she had already made her way up on top of its head and was about to plunge her katana blade into the fiend's skull. The chocobo eater tried to reach her with its extensive arms but to no avail, they were not able to reach up atop its head. She plunger her katana into the fiend's flesh but surprisingly it merely bounced off the fiend's apparently harder than it appeared hide.

The chocobo eater, seeing no other way to get rid of its assailer even though she posed no threat, rolled forward forcing Lauren to leap off its head. The fiend quickly recovered and whirled around, swinging its massive arms to keep its attacker at a safe distance. Lauren charged the fiend and dove under its belly and began to slash away at the fiend's soft underbelly. The chocobo eater bellowed in pain and thrashed about causing Lauren to get out from under it unless she wanted to become a whole lot thinner. As soon as Lauren had rolled out from under the fiend located her and wrapped one of its fiendishly large fists around her frail body.

The fiend squeezed down upon Lauren's body with the force that Lauren had never experienced in her life and could have never imagined in her wildest dreams. She felt as though all the bones in her body were about to snap in half from the disturbingly powerful grasp of the chocobo eater. She tried in vain to wriggle free from the fiend's commanding grip but she could not budge even the smallest part of her body. She could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs and soon began to breathe rather heavily and became lightheaded, giving her, her old head ache back.

Tidus rushed to aid his friend but he had the same problem as Lauren did for their blades were both of the same thickness. All his blows were deflected by the thick, rigid hide encasing the entire beast in a protective layer that almost nothing could permeate. Giving up all hope of saving Lauren by himself, Tidus rushed back to the rest of the group to seek aid while evading a commanding blow dealt by the chocobo eater.

Kimahri took Tidus' place in the rescue attempt of Lauren; his razor sharp spear should be more than enough to penetrate the fiend's rigid hide. The mighty Ronso ran up and thrust his forceful spear into the fiend's arm that held Lauren in the grip of its fist at the end of the long arm. The chocobo eater cried out in pain as Kimahri's spear almost went right through its arm and out the other side. The fiend's gigantic fist almost opened immediately after Kimahri thrust his spear through its arm, dropping Lauren to the ground with a soft thud.

Yuna rushed over to where Lauren lay as Kimahri battled the fiend back with the aid of Auron and Lulu casting a few spells, even though they had little or no effect on the massive beast. The young summoner trained her staff toward Lauren's body and yelled, "Cure!" Instantly the blue healing aura enveloped Lauren and she felt life rushing back into every extremity. She fluttered open her turquoise eyes to see Yuna crouched over her, staff in hand. Lauren sat up and gave a nod of gratitude which Yuna acknowledged with a nod of her own and helped the injured teen upon her feet. The two girls rushed hastily over to where their friends had been pushed back near a cliff edge and were about to be pushed over it.

Auron rushed at the chocobo eater as fast as he could, his massive sword resting upon his right shoulder the entire time. The gigantic fiend lashed out with a punch from its left arm that would have had enough force behind it to bring down the Al Bhed shop the battled near. Auron skillfully eluded the massive blow and continued on his charge after he regained his footing from the shockwave created by the punch from the fiend nailing the ground. The ancient guardian, once close enough, brought his colossal blade down upon the immense fiend's right wrist. The chocobo eater let out a wild cry of pain, but the blade did not do much damage to it for its hide was too tough for it to permeate.

Auron did a baseball slide along the dirt road right underneath the chocobo eater to evade being either eaten or smashed by one of its muscular arms. The ancient guardian hopped onto the enormous fiend's back and began to hack away at the shoulder pad like things positioned above its shoulders. The fiend let out a bellow of pain as it whirled around, catching Auron off guard and sending him to the ground, his large blade landing on top of him. He slowly eased himself up, but was struck with a commanding blow to the side of the head which sent him sailing through the air. The guardian crashed into the sign right above the entrance to the chocobo corral, snapping it in half and sending shards of splintered wood out in all directions as well as into his back.

"Yuna we can't hurt that thing. You gotta summon something." Lauren informed her friend as the two teens rushed toward where their friends were combating the massive fiend.

"Right!" Yuna nodded and went into a summon performance. She began to twirl her staff out in front of her, a small orb of fire forming in the center as she continued to twirl her staff. Then with a movement of her right hand, she guided the small sphere of red-orange flame down into the dusty road. She kneeled down, hand placed on the ground as pieces of soil began to crack and rise out of the ground. The pieces of ground ejected from the ground, shooting Yuna up into the azure sky, a massive orb of fire with something inside held the fragments of earth in the air. The creature within the flame sphere spun around and disbanded the sphere of red-orange flame around it with a mighty outburst with its powerful arms. The creature fell through the air, catching Yuna upon its right shoulder as it fell, and landed on the ground with a loud thud behind the chocobo eater.

Ifrit let out a grand roar, letting Yuna down from its shoulder, which drew the attention of the chocobo eater away from the rest of the group. Ifrit flashed its mighty black claws before leaping into the air at the huge chocobo eater. The aeon brought its massive claws down upon the chocobo eater's face, ripping deep gashes into the fiend's though as nails flesh. The fiend let out a cry of intense pain and lashed out at the aeon with a barrage of devastating punches while trying to devour Ifrit with its colossal jaws. The agile fire aeon evaded every single blow dealt by the chocobo eater except for its last punch that sent Ifrit sailing through the air but the aeon hastily did a back flip and landed while skidding backward on his claws.

"Ifrit, Meteor Strike!" Yuna called to her newest aeon. The fire aeon complied and began to create a sphere of pure red-orange fire in front of its massive jaws with its arm cocked back to strike it like a volleyball. Ifrit leaned back away from the orb of pure fire gathering in front of his face and prepared to slap it into the chocobo eater's face. The fire aeon finally slapped it with its poised claw and sent it sailing through the air toward the mammoth fiend's face, right at its mouth. The orb of red-orange fire soared through the azure morning sky and smashed into the fiend's face with a deafening crackle as the fiend's flesh began to be singed off. The collision sent the chocobo eater onto its back and waving its arms around in sheer confusion and panic.

"Now is our chance! Strike it when it's down!" Auron commanded to the entire group, taking the lead in the charge against the fiend.

Tidus reached the incapacitated chocobo eater first, being the fastest, and began to slash away at the fiend's supple underbelly. The fiend let out vociferous cried of pain as brotherhood sunk into its supple underside flesh. He drove brotherhood's blade into the fiend's right thigh in an attempt to make it not be able to walk if it ever got back upright. He wrenched brotherhood out of the open wound, crimson colored blood dripping off the edges of the blade, and continued his assault on the fiend's exposed underside.

Lulu tried to aid her friend from a distance with her magic but it seemed like every spell in her arsenal did little if any damage to the immense fiend. She first tried a fire spell, seeing Ifrit knock it over and singing its skin made her think that maybe it had some kind of weakness toward fire. The spell merely struck the chocobo eater's underbelly and did not do anything to aid her friends in dispatching the fiend. Then she tried a lightning spell to see if maybe it had some sort of weakness toward that element. The bolt of superheated lightning flew into the chocobo eater's flesh and simply bounced off regardless of the fact that she assailed its weak side. Then she tried a water element spell but that also had no effect on the massive fiend for its hide was too rigid. Finally she attempted a blizzard spell, which she carefully aimed at the wound Tidus had put into the fiend's right thigh. The spell struck the fiend square in the wound and began to freeze the flesh it came into contact with inside the wound.

The chocobo eater somehow managed to fend off its assailants with its muscular arms and began to rock back and froth trying to get back upon its feet. Lauren rushed at the massive fiend but it was too late, it had already gotten back upon its barrel like legs and was lumbering toward her. She continued to charge at the fiend just as she had done near the beginning of the encounter. The chocobo eater lashed out with its right arm as it stumbled with its frozen and wounded leg, giving Lauren somewhat of an advantage because it could not move as fast. She sidestepped the punch and flashed her katana blade in between the knuckles on the fiend's fist that had just missed her. Her blade surprisingly dug into the fiend's flesh causing it top come to an abrupt halt right next to her.

The chocobo eater now seemed as though all the numerous wounds were finally catching up with it. Its movements were slowed down and were growing slower with every passing moment, its frozen over leg dragging along the ground. Lauren took full advantage of the fiend's slowing down and leapt up onto head and began to stab at one of its glowering yellow eyes. Her katana blade sank into the chocobo eater's left eye causing it to go into a state of confusion, panic, and pain. It thrashed about randomly trying to topple its assailer off its back and finally succeeded after thrashing around for a moment Lauren was flung off its back. The gigantic fiend finally focused its attention on Lauren instead of its pain and poised an enormous fist right above the toppled teen. Right before the chocobo eater flung its devastating fist down at Lauren a blitzball covered in a sheet of clear ice flew overhead and went right down the fiend's throat.

Lauren looked up over her shoulder while the chocobo eater gagged on the blitzball to see Wakka finally standing after his initial contact with the fiend. "Miss me?" He joked coming over to help Lauren to her feet.

"Thanks Wakka." She said as he helped her to her feet and away from the gagging fiend.

"Anytime, ya?" The chocobo eater finally spit the icy blitzball out of it throat and was about to charge down the two teens.

Kimahri lunged forward, spear out in front, and impaled the chocobo eater right before it got within range to attack Lauren and Wakka. The spear sank into the fiend's flesh but not very far, only about a foot, but that was enough to stop it form continuing after Lauren and Wakka. Kimahri stared down the fiend as it prepared to launch an attack at the mighty Ronso but when it flung a devastating first at the Ronso he wrenched his spear out of its flesh and eluded the blow. He plunged his spear into the same wound that he had inflicted earlier when rescuing Lauren causing the fiend to drop its right arm tot the ground from all the pain.

With one of its arms incapacitated, Kimahri took to slashing up the fiend while still evading its one good arm. He plunged his mighty spear into the fiend's right and only remaining eye with a sickening squish as the eye popped out of its socket and landed on the ground near Kimahri. Now blinded, the fiend was not much of treat: however, none of the group could easily dispatch the fiend so Yuna had Ifrit deal with the pathetic fiend.

Ifrit leapt up into the air and began to charge up an enormous fireball right on the end of his snout. He fired the sphere of pure fire right into the chocobo eater, singing even more of the fiend's flesh than the meteor strike had. A plume of fire shot up from the ground where the sphere struck the chocobo eater and it was sent up, floating in the middle of a newly created sphere of floating fire. The fire aeon landed, skidding along the ground away from the fiend and tearing long claw marks into the soil. The aeon then dug into the ground and ripped up a massive piece of earth shaped like a jagged rectangle and heaved it at the floating chocobo eater. The piece of earth struck the fiend in the sphere of flame causing it to explode and send the fiend careening into the ground. It smashed into the earth near a cliff and was sent tumbling over the edge as it cracked from the force of the chocobo eater striking it.

Yuna disbanded Ifrit after he had disposed of the chocobo eater and walked over to where the rest of her friends gathered near the entrance to the Al Bhed shop. "What's the matter with you Yuna?" Lauren queried as the young summoner got near to her. "You look really worn out."

"She is tired 'cuz she hasn't summoned that much so when she does it takes a lot out of her, ya know?" Wakka said as Yuna finally stopped in front of her guardians, a sweat drop making its was down her face.

An Al Bhed man with long blonde hair and dressed in an off white shirt came waltzing out of the shop and addressed the group. "Have you an interest in renting some chocobos?" Rin inquired in his polite voice. "As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge. Please ask the attendant, if you wish to rent." He showed them to the chocobo corral.

The chocobo attendant lady stood at the gate to the chocobo corral and smiled as Lauren and her friends approached. "Thank you so much for saving the chocobos!" She thanked them excitedly.

"We'd like to rent some chocobos." Yuna spoke for the entire group.

"Alright. Right this way." The chocobo attendant led the seven of them into the corral and showed them each to their own chocobo.

"Whoa! How am I supposed to ride this thing?" Lauren exclaimed as she was shown to her chocobo.

"Get on its back and ride it." Auron stated sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. I mean I have no skills at riding anything, let alone a six foot chicken" She complained as she attempted to mount the chocobo. The chocobo stayed still, much to her surprise and delight, but she still couldn't get onto its back and stay put. Finally after trying to mount the chocobo for approximately five minutes she finally got her leg over the thing and perched herself in the saddle. "Finally!" She declared as the rest of her friends began to file out of the corral. She followed closely behind but did not try for a speed record for she still could not stay on top of the chocobo very easily.

After ridding down a long winding road with a wooden bridge near the start, Lauren and her friends finally find themselves at a gate guarded by crusaders. Talking to one of the guards is Donna from back on Kilika. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a summoner!" The black haired, scantily clad summoner exclaimed.

"Sorry, ma'am! No exceptions!" The guard refused her passage, regretfully.

"You dare impede a summoner's pilgrimage?" She queried trying to strike the guard's morals and beliefs but to no avail.

"Sorry, ma'am! No exceptions!" He repeated.

"Useless!" Donna shouted at the guard and turned toward Lauren and her friends.

"Oh, it's you." Donna greeted the seven companions. "As you can see, not even summoners can pass. But they'll call on us in the end. Just wait and see. In the meantime, I think I'll have a nap. Oh, Barthello?" Barthello rushed over to Donna's side and prepared to leave.

"But why won't they let anyone pass?" Lauren inquired.

"Who knows who cares? All I know is that they are impeding my pilgrimage which goes against the teachings. But for now, like I said, I'll go have a nap." She waved for Barthello to follow her and stormed off.

As Donna fazed out of view a large cart drawn by chocobos guarded by two crusaders came up the highroad toward the gate. "Gatta and Luzzu reporting, sir!" The familiar voice of the young crusader rang out through the air.

"This is the last of them." Luzzu told the guard.

"Good to have you with us. Go on through!" The guard ushered them through the checkpoint and onto Mushroom Rock road.

In the back of the cart the cloth stretched over it was absent and Lauren gazed in to see a fiend behind the bars that surrounded the cage. "What is that!" The blonde teen hollered at the sight of the fiend.

"That's a Sinspawn, didn't they tell you? We're bringing sinspawn from all over Spira here. Sinspawn inevitably draw Sin, right?" Everyone but Lauren nodded. "We're going to lure it into a trap!" The guard expressed great enthusiasm and pride of their operation.

"But how are you going to defeat Sin? It's so big and I thought nothing could really defeat it except for summoners." Lauren questioned in mass confusion.

"We have an alliance with the Al Bhed here. With their firepower and our military strength we should be able to defeat Sin once and for all!" The guard explained their current situation.

"What! You're using the forbidden machina and you're allies with the Al Bhed!" Wakka voiced his anger at both the Al Bhed and the crusaders.

"Wakka! Calm down, remember our little talk back at Rin's?" Lauren placed a hand on the blitzer's shoulder.

"But…but…" The orange haired blitzer stammered.

"C'mon Wakka, it's alright. We already said that they are people like you and I and that even if they have different religious views they are still people that have the right to be treated with respect." Lauren attempted to calm her friend down but it was all in vain.

"You don't know the half of it!" Wakka shouted at the blonde teen and stormed off away from the crusader's checkpoint.

"Hey Wakka! Come back!" Lauren hollered as her friend ignored her and continued away from her. "What's Wakka's problem with the Al Bhed?"

"When Wakka's brother, Chappu, went off to join the crusaders he made that sword that Tidus now has for his brother to use, but when he went to give it to him Chappu declined it and used an Al Bhed weapon instead." Lulu explained.

"Oh…" Lauren gazed off in the direction Wakka had gone. "So that's all? I guess that sword must mean a lot to him for him to get all upset like this."

A few moments later Wakka returned to the group in silence. After the group sat around a while, Maester Seymour came up the road toward the checkpoint with his Guado escorts. "So we meet again, Lady Yuna." His eerily soft voice made the hair on the back of Lauren's neck stand straight.

"Y-Yes?" Yuna stammered.

"You look troubled. Is there anything I can do?" Seymour questioned the young summoner. Her silence answered his question. He walked over to the guard.

"Maester Seymour. Let me show you to the command center." The guard greeted the Maester.

"Hold, I have a request." The guard gawked at Seymour questioningly. "I need to have Summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command center." He glanced back at Yuna with an eerie smile that made Lauren's stomach turn.

"But, Maester Seymour, sir." The guard agued.

"Do not worry, I will take full responsibility." The Maester dismissed all worries of the guard. The guard nodded in acceptance and stood to the side to allow Seymour and the rest proceed to the command center. "It is done." Seymour said to Yuna as he walked back toward her and her friends.

"Thank you. Your grace." Yuna bowed and then did a Yevon prayer. Seymour returned the prayer and when he rose, something in Lauren's pocket caught his eye. It was a golden chain that was barely draped over the edge of her jean pocket. A creepy smile stretched across his face as he continued his ascent upward till he met Lauren's questioning eyes. His smile instantly vanished after he realized that she was staring at him with the utmost curiosity. He waved to his escorts and they took off through the gate and onward toward the command center stationed at the top of Mushroom Rock road.

The group began to move onward to follow Maester Seymour but Lauren stayed behind pondering why Seymour looked at her that way. "Lauren, is something the matter?" Yuna turned to face the blonde and strolled back to stand before her.

"I don't know… I just didn't like the way Seymour looked at me." Lauren said drawing a very confused look from Yuna. "He had a smile on his face that was so creepy it made my skin craw and he was looking directly at me."

"I didn't see him smile or look at you." Yuna admitted. "But I'm sure he didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. After all, he's a Maester of Yevon." The young summoner tried to subdue Lauren's fears.

"I guess…"

"Yuna, Lauren! Let's get going!" Tidus hollered back to the two teens as he and the others were about to pass through the gate. The two hurried along after him and the others.

On the other side of the checkpoint, a guard stood and then began to speak, "All hail Maester Seymour!" And with that Seymour came literally out of nowhere and stood before all the crusaders gathered around and Lauren and her fiends.

"Brave Crusaders of Spira, protectors of all Spira. Believe in the path you have chosen, let faith be your strength! I, Seymour Guado, Maester of Yevon, will bear your witness to your deeds today." The crowd shot up a round of excited applause and shouts.

"What's going on? Why's Maester Seymour backing the Crusaders, eh?" Wakka finally broke his silence due to his complete outrage at the current situation. "They're violating the teachings!"

"Even going against the teachings they're willing to risk it for the greater good." Yuna turned to her distressed friend. "Wakka, I think Maester Seymour sees that, too."

"Ah, Sir Auron. It is an honor." Seymour waltzed over to the ancient guardian, finally realizing him fully. "I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years." Auron looked at him oddly.

"I've got nothing to say about it." Auron said defiantly and walked off away from the group.

"I...see. Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian." Seymour looked after the ancient guardian.

"Your Grace!" Yuna got his attention.

"Please, there's no need for formalities." Seymour walked over to stand in front of Yuna.

"Excuse me... Maester Seymour? Why is your Lordship...presently...present here...sir?" Wakka managed to stutter to the Guado Maester.

"Please, speak as you normally would."

"Uh. Isn't this operation again the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?" Wakka awaited the Maester's answer intently.

"It's true... I should. However... Both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Seymour Guado-the person, not the maester of Yevon... As a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavor." Seymour explained his reasoning for not stopping them as well as being present.

"But, using machina... That's bad, isn't it?" Wakka still continued his argument.

"Pretend you didn't see them." Seymour said staring right at Wakka.

"Beg your pardon, but that's not something a maester should say!" Wakka exclaimed while staring at the Maester in disbelief.

"Then, pretend I didn't say it." Wakka seemed to be very outraged at the Maester's disregard for keeping the teachings of Yevon upheld in this operation.

"See Wakka, even the Maesters think that what they are doing here outweighs the fact that they are using forbidden machina." Lauren told her orange haired blitzer friend. 'Even if he is really, really creepy!' She thought to herself while looking over the Maester of Yevon.

Maester Seymour left the group to proceed onto the command center after Wakka's little outburst. Soon Lauren and her friends moved along to proceed to the Djose temple but were blocked off by Clasko, the third person in the chocobo knights that they had met earlier but had remained silent. He said that Seymour had requested Yuna's presence at the command center and said that they had to take the long way around because they were not quite done with the preparations on the other road.

So they took the other, longer road up to the command center. As they entered the new road a guard warned them about fiends being on the road and that they should take extreme care while crossing. Yuna thanked the female guard and led the group onto a strange symbol that then proceed to rise up out of the ground, producing a platform that moved them up to a higher level. The road they were forced to take was a extensive one, but nothing compared to the Mi'ihen highroad, and snaked along from side to side with some platforms of different elevations.

The fiends that the seven companions encountered were nothing much of mere annoyances. That is except for the fiends that looked like abnormal plants with mouths and were red colored. These fiends shook their large leaves sending a cloud of pollen toward that group that put them to sleep once breathed in. One by one, they would eventually wake after several moments and then they would destroy the fiends rather hastily. Finally they reached the end of the tail and rose up on another of those strange platforms that they had used when they first entered the trail. Upon the ledge of the upper most landing stood Gatta and Luzzu and they were apparently arguing about something.

Gatta was put on command center guard instead of being sent to the front lines for the oncoming confrontation with Sin like Luzzu. Luzzu told him that guarding the command center was just as important as battling Sin in the main confrontation but Gatta still felt that he was missing out on all the action. Finally he gave into Luzzu's constant reassuring and hurried off down the road that Lauren and her friends were just about to take to the command center.

"Gatta deserves better..." Tidus said as they drew close enough to Luzzu for him to hear. The crusader looked up at Tidus and gave him an odd look.

"At least there's no chance he'll get hurt." Wakka reassured, turning to Luzzu. "Why are you guys fighting, anyway? Aren't the almighty Al Bhed machina enough?" He mocked the sacrilegious weapons.

"They still need some time to get them ready. Our job is to keep Sin at bay till they're done." Luzzu explained. Wakka seemed to get very annoyed at Luzzu. "Wakka... I might not get another chance to say this. It's about your brother." Lulu mouthed the words 'Luzzu, no' but it was too late and nothing could stop him anyway. "I'm the one who convinced him...to enlist." Wakka's jaw dropped until the rage building within him came to the surface and he punched Luzzu in the face casting him to the ground.

Wakka loomed over Luzzu as if the punch wasn't enough to relieve his anger and he was about to do something more drastic. "Wakka! Stop!" Lauren grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to stare her straight in the eye. "There's no point in hurting Luzzu. The past is the past and it's done and over with and there is no way to change it."

Wakka just stood there and stared down at the ground. "When we used to play blitz together, Chappu used to say... He'd say that- when we won the Cup, ya?-he'd propose to Lulu. And then one day... goes off and becomes a Crusader. Just like that."

"Chappu also said to me... That being with your girl is good... But keeping Sin far away from her is better." The red haired crusader told Wakka of his brother's feelings.

Wakka stared at Lulu questioningly but before she could say anymore Lucil appeared riding her chocobo. "All Crusaders in the vanguard are to assemble on the beach!" She ordered.

"That's my cue!" Luzzu began to head for the beach but Wakka stopped him.

"Luzzu! Don't die out there." The orange haired blitzer hollered at the red haired crusade.

"So you can hit me more?"

"Lots! Lots more!" Luzzu and Wakka smiled at each other and then he turned back to getting to the beach but Yuna blocked his path.

"Sir Luzzu, please! Please, don't go!" Yuna begged the crusader not to go and battle Sin head on.

"Let him go. The man has already chosen his path... as you did when you became a summoner." Auron commanded. Yuna obliged and moved to the side allowing Luzzu to pass.

"What does Yuna choosing to be a summoner have to do with a life or death situation?" Lauren queried curiously looking out over the blank faces of her friends except for Tidus, who was apparently wondering the same thing. "What's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything?" She complained but still no one responded.

"We must hurry to the command post." Auron finally broke the silence and strode over to the huge elevator that would carry them to the upper level where the command center resided.

Once upon the upper level, the seven companions moved along the trail toward the command center. Lining the ledge of the level were about ten or more Al Bhed cannons which Wakka proceed to go over to and kick one of them, stubbing his toe. After that they continued on until they came upon the command post with Gatta stationed outside.

"Just doing what they say? It just won't be enough." He muttered as the group arrives at the command center.

"Guarding the command center is important too, you know? Besides, it was an order from a superior officer and it will keep you out of harms way." Lauren tried to reassure Gatta as he continued to look depressed.

"I gotta show Luzzu what I can do. So I'll stay here and do as I was told. It's the right thing to do." Lauren smiled happily at the young crusader as he dove deep into thought.

"Well, let's head in." Lauren led everyone into the command center that was blocked off by a wall of tent like material.

Inside they met up with another Maester of Yevon. "I'd heard from Seymour, but I didn't know if we'd actually meet." Maester Kinoc greeted his quests. "Good to see you, Auron! Ten years, isn't it?" The guardian nodded.

"That's Wen Kinoc, one of the Four Maesters of Yevon. He leads the warrior monks and also commands the Crusaders." Lulu explained to the two dumbfounded blonde teens.

Gatta came through the part in the tent like material to speak with Maester Kinoc. "All troops ready to move at your command, sir!" He gave a salute to the leader of the crusaders.

"Good, dismissed." Kinoc waved Gatta away, the young man giving another salute before running off back to his post.

Kinoc turned to where Auron was resting up against a post on the wall. "Tell me, Auron. Where have you been to last ten years?" Everyone seemed to be wondering about Auron's past ten years and it struck Lauren as odd, very odd.

"We don't have time for this now, do we?" Auron said bluntly, skillfully eluding the question at hand.

"This plan won't work, you know that. We'll just let them dream a little longer." Kinoc sounded as if he wanted the crusaders and Al Bhed alike to die.

"What!" Lauren exclaimed but what cut off when Seymour entered the command center.

"Lord Kinoc..." Seymour's eerie voice didn't seem to have any effect on the Maester.

"Oh, yes. Proceed." The two Maesters began to walk off toward the cliff to gaze out over the whole scene.

"That Kinoc, a maester?" Auron wondered aloud.

"I heard that, Auron. A lot has happened the last ten years. What were you doing, and where?" Kinoc questioned Auron once again about his past ten years.

"Fulfilling a promise I made to a friend. I still am." Auron simply replied.

"Just tell me one thing: Have you seen Zanarkand?" Auron disregarded Maester Kinoc's question.

"I kinda...think we don't belong here." Yuna admitted while staring around at the entire scene. After a while, Yuna questioned one of the guards standing around, "Will Sin come?"

"Sin always returns for its spawn. To make sure, we're going to encourage them to call out to it." The guard replied.

"You won't have to. It'll come." Auron said bluntly.

A load noise erupted to the left of the group from a massive cage that was hoisted off the ground by a massive crane, its gate wide open. A massive tremor shook the ground that Lauren and her friends, along with the two Maesters were on. An immense fiend landed on the ground causing that tremor. It had a head and neck like a millipede that stretched down to a lager part that had two colossal legs attached to it. Two gigantic arms jutted out from the fiend's torso and acted as a shield from all physical attacks with the large had plated claws at the end of the arms. It crept over to Lauren and the rest of the group as they all drew out each of their weapons and prepared to battle the fiend.


	6. The End of a Tradegy and a New Friend

Chapter Six: The End of a Tragedy and a New Friend

A/N: Sorry guys for the long update, but I've been in a kinda writing slump, with a bit of writer's block as well as not feeling like doing anything but playing video games. I'm sorry if there is too much text straight from the game but I'm not very good at coming up with my own dialogue and also it feels weird not putting in some of it, for some unknown reason. Anyway, on to responding to your reviews!

**Spira'sSentry**: Just think I was gonna make the previous chapter go all the way till the end of operation Mi'ihen, but you know me and battle scenes, I make them long so I decided not to. I'm glad you really like this fic and that you are keeping up with reviewing all the chapters! I love your fic and think that it's really starting to get really good and I can't wait for the next chapters, by the way how many are left? Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last and all.

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Yeah, about calling Auron that, a few other people, including my friend anbu713, you should check out his FFX fic, it's awesome, used it a few times and I was too lazy to think up some other description for him so I just used that last chapter, but I will try to not do that anymore since u seem to not like it that much. And as I said before, yep, Seymour is a creepy bastard so why fight it. And I'll try to review more of your fic then I have been lately, I've just not been in the mood for reading for a while, sorry.

**dark dragon knight1993**: That's okay that you took so long to review 'cuz I took so long to update this chapter. Yep, Seymour is very, very, disturbing. Anyway, here is the next, long chapter for you!

Auron strode forward, his massive sword resting upon his right shoulder leaving the rest of the group staring at the sinspawn wide eyed. Braska's former guardian beckoned for the rest of the group to follow up behind him and they did so hastily and without any hesitation. The sinspawn crept eerily across the dirt cliff overlooking the bay towards Lauren and her friends. As it drew nearer it came to a halt and shot its head back into the air and let out a cry that made everyone's' skin crawl, even Auron's. The group formed up into a formation where all the melee fighters were in the front protecting Lulu and Yuna as they cast spells from a safe position.

Tidus was the first to take up the attack. He charged up along the cliff edge in an attempt the catch the sinspawn off guard while its concentration was focused more on his friends instead of him. The blitz ace successfully made it up close to the sinspawn without it realizing he was there, but beyond that he didn't have much luck. He leapt into the air right below the centipede/crab fiend's head, his sword back behind his head ready to strike its target on its master's command. The fiend caught a glimpse of the young blitz ace ready to decapitate it and lashed out with its left shield like arm. The blow struck Tidus in his side and sent him soaring through the air back toward where his friends stood, almost colliding with Wakka.

Kimahri charged at the fiend as it charged him back, both its shield like arms thrust forward and together to act as the shields they mimicked. The Ronso guardian thrust his razor sharp spearhead out in front of him and at the middle sinspawn's arms trying to catch a weak point where the two massive arms came together. His spear merely bounced off of the fiend's extremely thick arms instead of locating a weak point that he could take advantage of. The sinspawn started to shake its head and cave out a little cry as a dark orb of energy formed around Kimahri. The mighty Ronso guardian tried to escape from the sphere of energy, but it was all in vain. The orb of dark energy wrapped itself tightly around the Ronso before expanding and imploding in upon the Ronso guardian.

Kimahri was tossed aside by the implosion of the sphere of dark energy and landed at Yuna's feet, after passing through the wall of other guardians. Yuna quickly trained her elegant staff on Kimahri and shouted, "Cure!" letting the white aura drift peacefully off the tip of her staff and flow over Kimahri's battered body. Kimahri's eyes shot open and he flung out his right arm and grasped hold of his spear shaft and leapt to his feet just in time to block Wakka's fire charged blitzball from smacking Yuna in the face.

The blitzball smacked into Kimahri's spear causing flames to erupt from the point of collision, and then making their way around the Ronso toward Yuna. Kimahri glanced back at Yuna after the blitzball was safely knocked aside to see if his protection attempt was in vain or if he succeeded. Yuna stood a few feet back from the might Ronso's back with a thankful smile painted upon her friendly face. It seemed like Kimahri sighed in relief and then turned back to head back into the battle all his friends were enveloped in.

Auron strode forward to take the sinspawn head on, shifting his mammoth sword restlessly upon his right shoulder. He cast aside his useless sleeve on his left side allowing his left arm to hang freely at his side for him to use to swing his colossal blade full tilt. Swerving in between strikes by the centipede/crab like fiend's gargantuan shield like arms and its odd head, he charged toward the sinspawn at his maximum speed. Braska's former guardian leapt into the azure sky doing a small flip which seemed nearly impossible for the older man while his body flew toward the fiend. He came out of his small, yet hasty spiral and brought down his immense blade down upon the sinspawn's let arm, near the join to the rest of the body, severing it clean off. The sinspawn let out a shrill cry of intense pain as its severed arm writhed on the ground, spurting trace amounts of crimson colored blood everywhere, before finally dissipating into pyreflies.

Auron went back in after the detached arm had evaporated into a cloud of pyreflies and tried to finish off the fiend, but was unlucky in his attempts. As he drew nearer to the beast it let out a cry and its head began to shake violently as the air surrounding the eldest guardian twisted into a blackish purple. He hastily noted the sudden attack attempt and hurried his efforts to cut down his foe before it cast its magic spell upon him. He was just about to plunge his sword into the sinspawn's chest cavity as its right shield arm flung out from its unnoticed position folded against the fiend's side. Auron was sent sailing through the air back toward the group of friends that watched him almost take down the monster.

Lauren shot out of the group just as Auron came to a sliding halt on his back right behind her and hurried off toward the centipede, crab mix sinspawn. The blonde haired teen rushed to the fiend's left side where it had no defenses other than the magic casting head. She leapt into the air and was just about to land on the fiend's left shoulder area when all of a sudden its arm regenerated and batted her back away from its body. "What the! Why does it get to regenerate!" She shouted as she dug her katana blade into the ground to use as a support to get up after being swatted back through the air about twenty feet.

"Because, it's a sinspawn and sinspawns are parts of Sin." Auron stated bluntly in his usual unmoved voice as he rose to his feet and strode up next to the teen.

"That's not what I meant… ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she cried out in pain as the air around her began to contract and expand in a purple haziness. Her body was being twisted in all directions as the sinspawns gravity magic continued to contract and expand as all her friends gawked in horror as she was being assailed. Finally the fiend ended its casting and Lauren was hurled back through the air, striking Yuna like a human missile. The two teens lay upon the ground, Lauren moaning in agonizing pain and Yuna forcing herself to stand to heal her friend and guardian. She aimed her staff at the blonde teen wearily and shouted, "Cure!" letting the pallid aura flow throughout the beat-up teen's body, fixing her like new.

"Thanks Yuna…" Lauren said as she regained her composure and stood upon her two jell-o like legs, almost collapsing forward as soon as she stood. Yuna nodded as she aided her friend in standing upright. "Now, we got to figure out a way to defeat this thing even though it can regenerate at least its arms." She gazed around at her friends, scratching her head and pondering of a way to defeat the fiend once and for all.

"Yuna, why don't you just summon one of your aeons?" Tidus chimed in with an idea that didn't seem to go over well with her.

"I… I can't. If I summon something then I won't be able to help out anymore because summoning will drain the rest of my energy." The brunet summoner protested the blitz ace's proposal.

"But if you summon something wouldn't it be able to defeat this thing no problem?" He kept trying to convince Yuna to some aone of her two aeons to combat the fiend.

"I'm not sure if it will be enough to defeat it and if not then I won't be anything more than a burden for the rest of you to protect."

"Well… it's coming this way so we better thing of something quick!" Lauren hollered drawing everyone's attention, except for Auron's who had been focusing on the opponent the entire time, back upon the sinspawn.

"Lu your magic should be enough to hold it back, right?" Wakka suggested a plan to make some more leeway for the group to formulate a plan to destroy the fiend.

The black mage nodded, dropping her doll to the dusty ground and raising her hands above her head. "Fire Fury!" She dropped her arms through the air causing a succession of fire spells to smash into the fiend's copper colored head. The sinspawn let out a sharp screech of pain as each of the fire spells belted it in the head, singing some of its flesh and the little red plant like things hanging from the bottom of its jaw. In total, eight fire spells assailed the sinspawn causing major damage along with the pain that stunned it for a few moments as it thrashed about in blind pain.

"I got it!" Lauren cheered as a plan of attack burst into her brain drawing everyone's attention. "Auron." She pointed at him. "You take up the charge and slice off one of its arms." Braska's former guardian nodded in acceptance of her order. "Kimahri, you hack off the other with your spear. Lulu, if you see its head doing anything weird like it's about to cast a spell hit it first before anyone gets hurt. Wakka, you guard Yuna and guide her around to anyone that needs her healing magic. As for me and Tidus, we're gonna climb up its back while you guys are distracting it as attack it from the back." Everyone seemed alright with the plan and the blonde gave a hand signal to execute the mandate.

Auron and Kimahri charged in first, being the ones that had to take out the first lines of defense they had to go in first, unprotected, except by Lulu watching out for any spells from the sinspawn's head. The two warriors evaded the blows cast by the fiend with its twin shield arms and continued in to get close enough to sever the arms from the body. They both swung down with their respective weapons at the shoulder joints, taking both arms off in one clean swoop from each blade. The fiend let out an immense howl of anguish, its head convulsing violently from the shock of the wounds. The twin shield arms wriggled upon the ground much like the one Auron lopped off until they evaporated into pyreflies that continued on their way to farplane.

Lauren and Tidus took up either flank and rushed behind the sinspawn as it writhed in pain from the beating Auron and Kimahri gave it. They snuck around undetected and began to ascend its back, hewing off each of the centipede like legs protruding from the back of what appeared to be its neck. The fiend let out even more yowls of anguish as the two blonde teens hacked away at the small legs upon it back. They finally reached the top of the sinspawn's head and were about to plunger their blades into the center of the top of its head when it reared its head back jostling the two teen guardians from their perches atop its copper colored head.

The centipede, crab mix sinspawn whirled around to kill Lauren and Tidus, smashing Auron and Kimahri away with its main body mass. Without any appendages the fiend had to rely on its magic abilities and began to conjure up the blackish purple gravity spell that would surely envelop the two in a vortex of pain and destruction. Lauren shook her head and opened her turquoise eyes just in time to see the sinspawn's head commence its shaking and shouted. "Lulu! Hit it now or we're dead!" The black mage swiftly ran around the side of the fiend so that she could see its head and cast a fire spell that gave off a deafening explosion as it struck the fiend's copper colored head, stopping it from casting its own spell.

Auron plunged his enormous sword into the back of the sinspawn and wiggled it around violently, slashing up its innards. The sinspawn reeled to the side in an effort to escape the sword master's fatal blade stokes. Kimahri planted his spear into the fiend's side as it moved away from Auron causing it to stop on impact from the intense pain. The sinspawn lurched around in a desperate attempt to escape from its assailers but everywhere it turned someone was awaiting it. Finally Tidus was getting annoyed at the thing and did a cartwheel toward it and then leapt into the air. He went into a series of spins and twists ending up with his blade lodged within the fiend's second, not already slain head, located in its main body mass.

The sinspawn thrashed about the cliff ledge wildly in blind pain, successfully trapping Lauren in between the thrashing fiend and the cliff face. It continued to push onward toward the blonde guardian till her heels almost slipped right off the edge of the cliff. She gazed around desperately trying to find a way out, but there was none other than the fall down the cliff, which she didn't want to happen. Although she didn't like it the sinspawn eventually did knock her over the cliff face, following her with the utmost loyalty. She landed upon the coarse beach sand and flicked her blonde locks out of her eyes and gazed upwards at a free falling fiend. She hastily rolled to the side, the sinspawn landed with a softened thud just as the teen guardian rolled over to her new position. She let out a sigh of relief only to gaze out into the bay to see Sin floating in the outermost part of the bay.

The cannons resting upon all the surrounding cliffs sounded off in unison sending their payload toward their target, Sin. Each cannonball struck Sin almost simultaneously casting sinscales into all the surrounding waters. An officer upon chocobo back hollered "Charge!" and all the forces up on the beach flooded into the water to meet the incoming sinscales head on.

"This just isn't my day!" Lauren muttered to herself as she reached for her katana. "What! Where is it!" She exclaimed as she reached an empty sheath and hand. She gazed around hastily to find it but found nothing so she began to panic. 'Oh god where is it!' she ran around aimlessly in an effort to locate her misplaced saber. 'Could it have fallen…' she glanced over to the body of the sinspawn, sweat beginning to form on her brow. '… if it did I'm dead.' Just as she thought that, a wave of sinscales clashed with a rank of infantry right in front of her.

A few of the sinscales from the battle in front of Lauren assailed her as they passed over the bodies of dead crusaders. She punched the first one in the head knocking it aside with ease but the others kept coming at her. She turned and ran since she had no real experience of fighting hand to hand especially not against monsters that had the upper hand for that. The blonde teen soon found herself pinned between three sinscales and a razor sharp rock wall. She pressed her back against the rock wall only to get a very sharp prick on her left shoulder blade that made her jump forward from the sudden pain. A sinscale lashed out at her with its fangs trying to quench its thirst for blood, but to no avail. She leaned up against the wall, regardless of the pain, and kicked the scale in the head sending it back a few feet to where the others waited for their turn.

Lauren hopped up just as a sinscale rammed its head into the rock wall, piercing its skull on a jagged rock, and bounced off the corpse. She landed into a forward roll but she hit something metallic and fell out of her tumble to see what it was. Her katana sat half submerged in the coarse Mi'ihen beach sands. Seeing the blade brought glee to her eyes as she grabbed for it greedily and drew it up, along with her body into a defensive stance. The remaining two scales charged the now equipped guardian, their fangs gnashing wildly with a heavy thirst for blood. She stepped to the side and slashed one of them down the side causing it to crash into the sand and burst into pyreflies. The other scale rounded in its charge and headed back for another go at the prey its counterpart failed to nab. The blonde teen merely rammed her katana blade down the sinscale's throat as it neared her, killing it instantly.

Without any sinscales on her tail, Lauren gazed about at the battle taking place around her. There were bodies everywhere, all gnarled and bloody, the sight of which caused the young guardian to cringe and shut her turquoise eyes tightly. It seemed as though the sinscales were in endless numbers for more and more kept washing up on shore, and, or popping up out of the water much to the surprise of some unsuspecting Al Bhed or crusader. Cannon shells kept whizzing overhead trying to smash the life out of Sin as it sat peacefully in the bay next to a large two pronged, yellow Al Bhed gun.

The yellow gun began to charge up electricity that wrapped around the twin prongs jutting out from the main control room. Sin began to charge up its own shot but it was in the form of a purple colored shield completely surrounding it. The Al Bhed gun fired upon Sin and its newly formed barrier only to put a small dent in the shield. The Al Bhed gun continued to convey electricity through the gun and at Sin's barrier but it was no use. Sin began to push back the beam of electric as it expanded the shield around itself to cover the entire bay. The gun was toppled and disintegrated almost immediately and the wave of death continued outward.

Lauren watched this whole spectacle with wide eyes and an open mouth that signified she was scared to death. She stood their frozen in fear as the purple wave of death continued on, wiping out all of the Al Bhed cannons positioned on the cliffs in front of her. Finally she snapped out of her sheer fear and scampered around for some way to shield herself from the wave of devastation. The blonde spotted a crack in the face of the cliff leading up to where she had just fought the sinspawn and made a break for it.

The wave Sin expelled smashed into the first ranks of the fighting between the sinscales and the crusaders and Al Bhed. All of them were instantly vaporized in the purple wave that continued moving on toward the inward shore, destroying everything in its path. Lauren reached the recess in the cliff face just as the wave of devastation was only about twenty feet away from her. She rushed around a little curve in the nook and curled up in a ball as she awaited the wave to splash upon the cliff face. It smashed into the rock wall with the force of a hurtling train and also sounded like trains were running all around Lauren. She kept her eyes shut as tightly as she could and covered her ears the best she could but the sound still reached her two ears.

In a matter of seconds, which seemed like an entire lifetime to Lauren, the wave had dissipated, leaving only carnage upon the beach. The shaken teen emerged from her hiding spot in the cliff face to see that everyone that she had just seen combating the sinscales, along with them, were nowhere in sight. Rocks and other natural debris were strewn about the entire beach along side the wreckage of Al Bhed weaponry. There were a few dead bodies here and there farther in shore but for the most part the beach was only filled with rubble.

Lauren searched around the beach in search of any survivors, but her search was in vain until she head magic being cast up on the cliff she was on fighting the sinspawn. She heard the shrill screeched from the fiend right before she caught a glimpse of who was fighting it. Seymour stood next to Yuna and Auron whilst casting more powerful fire magic at the sinspawn than Lulu had. A cloud of pyreflies rose from the cliff after a sharp screech pierced the silent air surrounding the bay. Yuna hurried to the edge of the cliff and gazed off in search of her friends, and, or any survivors that may be near. She saw Lauren and gave her a friendly wave and a smile, Lauren did the same as the young summoner's glance shifted hastily to Sin floating in the bay. She began to move her staff in a summon pattern but then she turned around and spoke with someone that stopped her from performing any summon.

Sin turned and faced the beach one last time before it headed back out to sea, submerging itself in the moderate sea waters as it left the bay. Yuna, Seymour, and Auron made their way down to the beach where Lauren scurried around looking for any survivors as well as the rest of her friends. Tidus was found washed up on the beach about twenty yards from where Lauren first stood after he tried to swim after Sin. Lulu was sitting upon a rock looking out over the carnage of the day and apparently thinking. Wakka emerged from some ruble near the cliff face and came out to meet the rest of his friends. Kimahri just appeared out of nowhere and walked over and stood sentinel at the ramp leading up to the road leading to the Djose temple.

Tidus ran up to Auron and they talked a bit before Maester Kinoc passed them on his was out. Braska's former guardian must have said something to upset the Maester for he had a look of annoyance on his face. Seymour spoke with Yuna for a little while before he bid farewell to the young summoner and caught up with his escorts. Then Auron and Tidus had another chat and Tidus got pissed off at something Auron had said but then the guardian strode away from him and up the ramp onto the road. Lauren hurried along after the rest of her friends after gazing at the carnage one last time and met up with them on the first bend after the ramp.

"So where are we off to now?" The blonde guardian queried as she finally caught up with the rest of the group.

"To Djose temple, don't you remember?" Lulu answered shaking her head in disbelief.

"Sorry, but I guess almost getting killed three times back there and seeing hundreds of people being killed must have thrown my memory for a loop." Lauren replied angrily at the black mage, who just stood there gazing at her with an amused smile painted upon her face.

"Are you alright Lauren?" Yuna asked noting a few of the wounds her friend had acquired from her fray with the sinscales while she was unarmed.

Before she could respond Auron cut her off, "She is fine." The eldest guardian strode off toward the temple but stopped ten feet away when he realized no one was following him. "Are you coming, or do you plan to stop your pilgrimage here?"

"Of course she's not." Lauren answered for her summoner friend. "C'mon, let's get going." Yuna nodded and started up their walk along the road leading to the Djose temple, everyone following suit.

As they walked Tidus and Kimahri stopped to talk, letting everyone else go on ahead but then Lauren came back in mid conversation. "If we worry, she tries harder. Do not frown." The Ronso guardian said to Tidus which came as a great surprise to Lauren as she stopped right in front of them.

"Wow Kimahri, you can talk?" Lauren's jaw hung open as the Ronso's words reached her ears. "Why haven't you spoken before now?"

"There was no need." The Ronso spoke strangely like Auron in a blunt monotone like voice that got straight to the point, short and sweet.

"Come on you guys, we got to go to the Djose temple!" Yuna hollered back to her friends and guardians as the rest of the group was almost around a bend in the road.

"Coming!" Lauren shouted back at the brunet summoner as she hurried Tidus and Kimahri along the road to catch up with the rest of their friends.

The road was a pretty boring spectacle with only rocks and dirt as the surroundings and a roof made of rock to shield travelers from the elements. The road wrapped around the cliff, weaving in and out at random spots where the cliff face was bowed in or out. The fiends upon the road were the same species that they encountered upon Mushroom Rock Road with the addition of a basilisk with stone stare that could turn one of the friends into stone. The only way to cure the petrifaction was to either use a soft potion or have Yuna cast esuna to remove the stone coating. Other than the fact that the basilisks could turn them to stone, the group didn't have much trouble with them or any other fiend upon the road. Finally they came to a fork in the road with a sign placed in between near a hill of green grass.

"Which way is the temple?" Lauren queried glancing back a forth between the two trails, one leading to a dead end with rocks and dirt and the other leading to a long winding dirt road with grass on its banks. "I like the one to the left 'cuz I'm sick and tired of all this dirt a rock, but that's not the right way, now is it?"

"That one leads to the Moonflow and then to Guadosalam…" Lulu pointed toward the trail with the grass. "… but that is our current destination, the Djose temple." The black mage gestured toward the road leading to the long bridge and then the temple, which remained hidden within its rock cocoon.

"Is there anyway we could skip over that? I just want to get out of here as soon as possible." Lauren protested but her friends seemed firm on going except for Tidus, who seemed to have the same train of thought.

"I have to pray to the fayth in every temple in order to earn the Final Aeon." Yuna explained, trying to get her friend to understand the importance of going to the Djose temple.

"That's a summoner's training. She's gotta prepare mind and body, all just to get ready for the Final Summoning." Wakka added to try to sway Lauren's mind to see the importance of every temple.

"Okay, I just didn't know that all of them were important to a summoner and their pilgrimage." The blonde guardian nodded to her friends and strolled over to the road leading to the temple. "Let's go then, since it's so important to your pilgrimage, Yuna." Lauren said, taking her friend's hand leading her toward the temple in a sort of speed walk, leaving the rest to catch up at their own paces.

Tidus and Auron held back much like they have been doing lately to chat about something unknown to the rest of the group. They finally caught back up with the group after a little while as the rest of the group stood in front of a large rock resting near the back of the alcove. "Where's the temple?" Lauren asked after a while of standing there with her friends waiting for Tidus and Auron to catch back up to them. "I thought you said the temple was this way and that it was important to get there immediately, yet there is not temple as far as I can see." The blonde teen walked about the alcove glancing around lazily waiting for a response.

"Just wait." Lulu said just as Yuna began to pray to the fayth with the usual Yevon prayer movements. Lightning began to jut out of the rocks forming cracks all over the rock cocoon encircling the Djose temple. The rock cocoon floated away from the center and broke apart, the lightning holding the rocks in a revolution around the newly revealed temple.

"That's cool…" Lauren said in awe as the fragments revolved around the lighting temple. "So, are we going in or just standing around here watching the rocks move with the lightning?" She inquired when her friends did nothing to advance toward the temple.

"Another summoner is here." Yuna said out of the silence after Lauren's question.

"Really? How can you tell?" The blonde teen seemed a little more than confused. "I thought you prayed to the fayth from out here to reveal the temple." Lauren walked toward her summoner friend.

"I didn't get that far into the prayer. Someone must be trying to leave, so they have to be a summoner." Yuna replied staring at the temple wondering who could be in there.

"I hope it's not Dona." Tidus piped in his concern. "Her and that guardian of hers, what's his name, Barthello? They are just the aggravating types, and last time she almost got Yuna in trouble after she had him thrown me and Lauren into the cloister of trials thingy."

"We have to hurry." The honey brown haired summoner exclaimed as she took off at a walking pace toward Djose temple. The rest of the group soon followed in at their own paces, Lauren and Tidus off in front followed by Wakka then Lulu then Kimahri and finally Auron.

Once inside the temple the group moved along the dome main chamber and headed for the stairs leading to the cloister of trials, but was stopped by another summoner and his guardians coming out. "I beg your pardon, but may I ask your name?" A man in green and blue summoner robes with brown hair done up in a little pony tail like manner, who was also accompanied by two others, queried.

"I am Summoner Yuna, from the isle of Besaid." Yuna replied to the summoner.

"As I thought! The daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father." Isaaru exclaimed.

"My father? You knew him?"

"No. I have never met the man. Ah, my apologies. I am Isaaru. I am a summoner, like you." The brown haired summoner introduced himself.

"I'm Pacce. Pleased to meet you." The little kid who was apparently Isaaru's younger brother chimed in.

"And I'm Maroda. I'm guarding my big brother here." The other, much older with a strong build younger brother greeted Yuna.

"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I would someday become a high summoner like he was. You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin." Isaaru remarked.

"I...I'm not really... I've only just become a summoner." Yuna stammered.

"Of course, I've no intention of losing, either. So perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?" Isaaru friendly offered a challenge to Yuna.

"Very well, then. I accept your challenge." Yuna nodded with a friendly smile sitting upon her face once again.

Maroda tapped his older brother on the shoulder causing him to bid Yuna farewell. "I, beg your leave! Good luck, to both of us!" Yuna bowed and did a little Yevon prayer as Isaaru did the same and then left rather hastily.

As everyone else walked up the stairs Lauren was held back by Isaaru right before he left the temple with his two guardians. "You are Yuna's guardian, no? Maroda's heard a curious rumor. I thought you should know." The summoner explained.

"I heard it from those Crusaders. Seems that summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just...disappearing." Maroda elaborated on the rumor.

"Okay, thanks! I'll be on the look out for anything suspicious, after all, I don't want to ruin Yuna's pilgrimage nor lose her as a friend." The blonde guardian thanked Isaaru and Maroda. "See ya guys!" She said before taking off up the stairs to the cloister of trials to meet up with her friends.

"What was that about?" Lulu asked Lauren as she finally entered the trials.

"Oh that. Maroda and Isaaru told me that summoners have been going out on their pilgrimages and just disappearing without a trace." She clarified.

"Well then, you must not forget your roles as guardians." Auron said as he walked off into the cloister of trials. "Now, let's get going. Yuna can't linger around too long in any place," Everyone followed after the eldest guardian in their group.

In the first room there were two recesses in the walls, one on either side, and each harboring an orb of white lightning. Lauren and Yuna took one out each and found two slots at a door on the far side of the room that was shut and slipped the two spheres into the holes. The door opened up ushering them into another room where there was a pedestal with an orb upon it and two other, one on either side of the room. Tidus went off to grab the one on the left side and slipped it into an empty recess on the right with a line connecting it to another slot with an orb already in it and a pedestal upon the ceiling. As soon as he placed the sphere in it ignited a spark that ran from the first slot to it then to the pedestal upon the ceiling, lightning swirling around it. Wakka pushed the pedestal in the center of the room over under the one hung from the ceiling. A lightning bolt conveyed down from the ceiling pedestal to the other, the sphere upon it becoming super charged with energy.

Lulu took the supercharged sphere and placed it into a slot next to a door in the back of the room which slid open as soon as the sphere ignited the line. Behind to door rested currents of electricity what covered a wide gap, where on the other side sat another pedestal. Tidus and Lauren fetched the other spheres from before and placed them in the empty slots upon the pedestal that once harbored the supercharged one. Kimahri pushed the pedestal over to the door and through it and onto the waves of electricity lining the gap. Surprisingly the pedestal floated allowing Tidus, the most agile of the group, to hop across and push in the other pedestal setting off a glowing eye in the center of the floor in the previous room. He hopped back to the others and looked back at the stranded pedestal with the two spheres that it seemed they need for the next part of the trials.

"Now what?" The blitz ace let out a sigh as Auron walked over to the left side of the room and down the little set of stairs and stepped onto a pad that no one had noted. The pedestal harboring the two spheres popped back into the room right on top of the panel, right in front of Auron. Lulu took the super charged one back out of the now useless door slot and placed it into a slot on the right side of the room and activated ahead like portion around the glowing eye on the floor. Lauren and Tidus took the two spheres off the pedestal and rushed them back where they were when they started, lighting up the rest of the symbol on the floor. An elevator formed where the symbol was allowing the group to head up to the upper level where the chamber of the fayth resided.

Upon being transported to the upper level the group noticed five pedestals, each with its own little alcove behind it with a lightning shaped fixture going to the center of the ceiling. Lauren, Tidus, Wakka, Kimahri, and Auron went over to their own pedestal and pushed it back into the respective recesses in the wall. The five pedestals each made a clicking sound that conveyed a bolt of lightning up through the lightning shaped fixtures into the center of the ceiling where they all met. A doorway opened up on the left wall right next to where the elevator like platform had brought them up, revealing some stairs to the chamber of the fayth. Yuna entered the passageway leading up to the chamber of the fayth followed soon by Kimahri who seemed to never let her out of his sight.

Yuna went into the chamber of the fayth to pray and the rest of her friends stayed outside in the waiting chamber awaiting her return. While they were waiting for Yuna to return Dona and Barthello walked in upon the waiting guardians. "Well, well. You again. Still traveling with quite the crowd, I see." She mocked as Barthello walked toward Auron. "What is it, Barthello? You know this riffraff?" She inquired as her guardian inspected Braska's former guardian.

"You are...Auron, no?" The large, muscular guardian queried.

"What of it?"

"Can...I shake your hand?" Barthello stuttered. "Auron-no. Sir Auron. You're the reason I became a guardian!" He exclaimed while to two shook hands. "Thank you, sir! This means so much to me!" He thanked Auron as he surveyed his hand in awe.

"Calling the personal guardian to Lord Braska riffraff?" Wakka said in an amused voice.

"And you call yourself a summoner?" Lulu continued the mocking of Dona.

"Barthello, enough! Get back here!" The black haired summoner ordered her muscular guardian. He hurried over to her side just as the door to the chamber of the fayth slid open and Yuna appeared within the doorway, ready to collapse. Before she fell Kimahri reached out and caught her in his arm just before she tumbled down the stairs.

"You owe much to your father. All these guardians... and Sir Auron, too? And I heard Maester Seymour's quite taken with you. The world must look different when you're the daughter of Lord Braska." Dona said, trying to tarnish Yuna's image of feelings, but failing at both.

"This has nothing to do with my father!" Yuna proclaimed. "I am traveling on my own, as a full-fledged summoner!" She went on to defend her name.

"Oh, is that so? Then try standing on your own two legs for once." Dona said, once again trying to belittle Yuna as a summoner. "Your guardians won't be able to protect you when the time comes." This remark seemed to catch Lauren's attention.

"Hey, we'll protect Yuna through anything, right guys?" Lauren exclaimed looking out over the faces off all her friends. Everyone except Tidus didn't say or do anything; they just looked down or away from one another as Tidus backed up his friend.

Dona turned and beckoned Barthello to follow her, it was apparent that she was pissed and didn't want to hang around them anymore. Everyone walked out of the room and went into the temple's main chamber. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired." Lauren remarked as they strolled into the main chamber out of the cloister of trials. Most of her friends nodded and continued to walk out of the temple as a temple worker came up to Yuna.

"I beg your pardon Lady Yuna, but if you could we have some people here that could use your healing and a sending is needed for those who have lost their lives here." The young summoner nodded and the clergyman led her to where the wounded resided.

The next morning Lauren awoke to all her friends standing outside the temple and the little shop like building where they all had spent the night. "Where's Yuna?" The blonde teen inquired noting the summoner's absence.

"She's still sleeping." Lulu explained. "She was up practically all night healing the wounded and sending those who had lost their lives yesterday to Sin." The black mage looked away form Lauren and back at the temple.

"Okay then, we'll let her sleep till whenever she gets up, right?" The black mage nodded and Lauren went over to sit upon a rock to wait for Yuna to wake up.

About an hour or so later Yuna finally emerged from the temple to her awaiting friends. "Good morning." Lauren greeted a rather messy haired Yuna.

"What? Morning?" Yuna looked around franticly.

"Don't worry." Tidus came up next to the two girls.

"But it's morning! I'm so sorry! I-I'll get ready right away! Just a moment!" She glanced about still in a daze.

"Calm down Yuna, it's okay. You don't have to rush. We're fine just waiting." Lauren attempted to calm down her summoner friend, but with only a little potency.

"Yo! Sleepyhead!" Wakka called to Yuna as he approached the summoner and Lauren and Tidus, the rest of the gang trailing behind him.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Yuna apologized to her newly arrived friends for a purpose they didn't seem to get. "Please forgive me." She faced Auron as she said it.

"Really, there's no rush... here, your hair" Lulu handed Yuna a hairbrush to fix her horribly messed up honey brown hair.

"A summoner with bed hair! What's the world comin' to?" Wakka joked as Yuna stood there with a puzzled look upon her face looking out over the smiling faces of all her friends.

"You could have woken me up!" Yuna continued up her protest.

"Come on Yuna, you needed the rest. You were up practically all night helping out people so we decided that you deserved some rest." Lauren wrapped her left arm around Yuna's shoulders friendly.

"We did call to you, but with all that snoring..." Lulu joked with her bewildered friend.

"Hmm... what is it today? Everyone's picking on me!" Her comment sent everyone into laughter, even Auron who had barely laughed in his life. "You too, Sir Auron?" She glanced at the eldest guardian questioningly.

He laughed a bit before saying something. "Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair, we leave!" He caused everyone to break out into laughter.

"Yeah Yuna. You can't go and save Spira with bad hair, you know. That would just not be good for your image." Lauren joked. "Could you imagine it? Today we have Lady Yuna, defeater of Sin and savor of Spira…oh wait, what's this? Looks like she's having a bad hair day! Would you look at that, even summoners have them!" She imitated to the best of her ability an announcer that was at the celebration ceremony for Yuna's defeat of Sin.

Everyone laughed at Lauren's comment, even though they all had a glint of sadness in their eyes except Tidus and Lauren, whom had no idea what defeating Sin meant. "We leave!" Auron commanded after everyone had ceased their laughing and walked away from the temple.

As the group was walking over the bridge to where the road forked to the Moonflow Lucil and Elma stood upon it on one side. They expressed concern for Yuna since she had been up all night helping out others and barely got any sleep, but she said she was fine and had slept enough. Clasko shouted to Lucil and Elma for them to wait up for him and Elma scolded him for taking too long. He said something about how is he supposed to keep up with the chocobo Lucil and Elma had, but she just hollered at him again. Lucil bid Yuna and the rest of them farewell and rode off with Elma, Clasko hurrying behind them on foot.

Once in the area where the road split in three the group conversed. "Where to next?" Lauren queried, not remembering where Lulu had told her where they were going after the Djose temple.

"The Moonflow, remember?" The black mage asked in an irritated voice that Lauren was too used to really notice her anger.

"We must hurry." Auron ordered from his once silent position standing closest to the road leading to the Moonflow.

"What's with you Auron? You always seem to be pushing us along in quite a bit of a hurry." Lauren stated as she walked over to stand in front of the one eyed guardian. "Do we have to be somewhere in a hurry or are you just bored staying in one place for too long?" Auron just stood there inspecting the blonde teen as he did often. "Stop staring at me like that all the time, will ya!" She shouted at the eldest guardian as he shifted his gaze back onto the horizon.

"As you wish." Auron walked off toward the road leading up to the Moonflow.

"And will you stop talking like that and walking off as if you want to avoid everything and everyone!" Lauren hollered at Auron causing him to halt in his movements for a moment before continuing on. "What is with that guy?" She asked after the eldest guardian was out of earshot.

"Hey, mind your mouth!" Wakka scolded the blonde guardian, which she just waved off his comment. "You should be more respectful to the guardian of High Summoner Braska." The orange blitzer hollered at her, once again expressing his devout fayth in Yevon and anyone that stood high in the beliefs.

"Just can it with the religious crap, Wakka!" Lauren shouted almost at the top of her lungs at the orange haired blitz champ. "Seriously, what is Auron's problem?"

"He's just like that and has been for as long as I've know him." Tidus explained, coming up next to Lauren to calm her down. "You need to learn how to just accept it and go along with him. And, there's no reason to take it out on Wakka. So, just calm down and we'll leave when you're ready." Lauren nodded to the blonde blitz ace. "Okay! Moonflow, baby, here we come!" He shouted as he led the group after Auron.

Auron walked up the road a few moments before the rest of the group caught up with him, but before they did he encountered a cloaked man. "You are Auron, correct?" The mysterious man's voice was deep and had a sinister edge on it.

"And if I am?" The man smiled at the guardian's response.

"Good, I have found you!" The man exclaimed. "Now, down to business! You have a certain person traveling with you that my lord has foreseen as a threat to Spira. And knowing your standings as being a guardian to the late Lord Braska, you are in favor of protecting Spira as well as the Yevon fayth, am I right?" Auron did nothing but gaze at the cloaked man in wonder from the safety of his keenly placed sunglasses. "Of course I am! So, if you would do us a favor, make sure that she does not make it to the end of her path where as she can destroy Spira." Auron still made no movements or made any expressions of interest or question. "I see, I guess just relying on your fayth isn't enough to get you to work with us." The man jiggled a bag of change out from under his cloak. "Take this." He handed the package to Auron. "Payment for your services."

Just as the bag of money reached Auron's grip a voice called out to the former guardian of Braska. "Auron! Auron, wait up!" Tidus called out to the guardian, who then turned to see the group coming up on the road. He turned back to where the cloaked man was standing only to find that he had vanished into thin air. "I see you decided to wait up for us after all." The blonde haired blitz ace said as the group approached Auron.

Auron turned away from the group and started off down the road much like he had before when Lauren yelled at him. The road they traveled was a long dirt road much like the one they hiked on before the incident with Sin at Mushroom Rock. Various grasses and other plants lined the banks of the road as well as some random ruins of this and that, much like the Mi'ihen highroad. Farther down the road two Ronsos came around the corner, the ones from the café in Luca, right before the Blitzball match. As the group approached the two Ronsos, they began to speak with Kimahri as well as mock him and Tidus.

"Look! One of Kimahri's friends. Looks just like him." Biran teased Kimahri and Tidus in the same sentence. Tidus had a look of great confusion pained upon his face that caused Biran and Yenke to burst out in hysterical laughter. "Both follow summoners on all fours! Hornless goatlings!" Biran ridiculed the two guardians, their faces becoming twisted into an angry look, their eyes narrowing at the comments.

"Hornless! Hornless!" Yenke taunted from Biran's side causing them both to brake out into laughter. Lauren walked up beside Kimahri to support him against the other Ronso's assault of crude remarks and taunts.

"Hey! Leave Kimahri alone!" She hollered at the two large Ronso, giving them a defiant stare and placing her hand on her hips to try to further add to her fury.

"You come to insult Kimahri?" The Ronso guardian inquired hastily trying to avoid Lauren's involvement in the squabble.

"Wrong. We come to warn little Kimahri." Biran admitted.

"Summoners disappear. Never return." Yenke warned everyone present drawing surprised looks from everyone except Kimahri and Auron, who never showed much expression.

"Next will be Kimahri's summoner." Biran taunted.

"Poor Kimahri! Lost his horn, next lose his summoner!" Yenke mocked the silent Kimahri as he just stood there and took the barrage of insults without saying or doing anything to defend himself.

"Pitiful Kimahri! Howl alone! Howl alone!" Biran mocked before waving to Yenke to leave. The two Ronsos moved off down around the bend in the road off toward the Moonflow, leaving Lauren and her friends to ponder on what Biran and Yenke warned them about.

"Do those two got something against you?" Tidus asked Kimahri after Biran and Yenke left them. Kimahri said nothing but shook his head 'no' slowly and only once, just barely enough for anyone to see. "What, they were just picking on you?"

"Kimahri will deal with them." The Ronso guardian declared.

"But there's two of them. Don't you think that you might just need a little bit of help form anyone?" Lauren questioned, but Kimahri didn't do anything but stand there.

"It's Kimahri's problem. We can't interfere; it's a rule" Wakka came up to Lauren, trying to wave away the teen's concern for their Ronso friend.

"I'm worried." Lulu said out of nowhere.

"Let the Ronso deal with Ronso problems, ya? That's how it's always been."

"I mean I'm worried about those summoners disappearing." The black mage reinstated her comment.

"They aren't just disappearing into thin air." Auron said drawing everyone's attention.

"What could be getting them then?" Lauren queried, gazing about her group of friends for any kinds of explanations to what could be happening to all the summoners. "Isaaru said that the fiends aren't getting to them, so what or who could be doing these abductions?" No one came up with any ideas until Tidus spoke.

"Hey, if we guardians do our job...no problem, right?" He said in an extremely confident voice that sounded throughout the road, echoing a bit off the rolling hills etching the sides of the road.

"Right! Now, let's not worry about summoners disappearing 'cuz we're gonna protect Yuna, and let's get going to the Moonflow so we can get on with Yuna's pilgrimage!" Lauren ushered her friends down the length of road that still lay before them leading to the Moonflow.

"This is the Moonflow." Lulu proclaimed as the group came to a bend in the road where the vast river comes up to meet the bank of the road.

"These are moonlillies! They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls." Yuna pointed out the various colored flowers dotting the river surface in clusters near the bank near the road and all over the entire waterway.

"The entire river glows, like a sea of stars." Lulu stated looking out over the Moonflow into the crystal clear waters and over the multitudes of moonlillies.

"Can we spend the night here and see the lilies?" Lauren requested as she gazed in wonder at the flowers laid out before her over the Moonflow. "It sounds like it would be really pretty and I would like to have some sort of relaxing after all we've been doing lately." She gazed over the faces of all her friends, and they all seemed to like the idea, until she got to Auron.

"We're not spending the night." Braska's former guardian put an end to anyone's hopes of spending the night to see the view and to have some relaxation.

"Awwww! Why not?" Lauren complained to the unwavering guardian. "C'mon Auron, please?" She pleaded to the guardian, but his facial expression didn't change, nor did he say anything. "We could all use some rest, even you I bet. Why can't we just waste one night, huh? It's not like it would do much in delaying or affecting Yuna's pilgrimage in any way." She continued to beg the eldest guardian, but with little success. "Fine." She threw her hands up in defeat and stomped off in the direction of the shoopuf dock.

The group caught up to Lauren, who was standing in wide eyed wonder at a large creature, within a moment. The creature was twice the size of an elephant and had green, leathery hide instead of the traditional gray colored hide as elephants have. The gigantic creature had a large dorsal fin jutting up from where its tail met its back and also had a curled up trunk instead of a normal straight one. Upon its massive back sat a large platform with a tent canopy over some seats where passengers sat for their voyage across the vast water body.

"This is a shoopuf." Wakka said as the group reached up with Lauren.

"Whoa... Let's ride! Come on, let's go!" Tidus exclaimed, making his way closer to the shoopuf.

"All right! We board soon as we're ready, ya?"

"Let's go!" The blonde haired blitz ace rushed up to where the driver, a small blue skin colored creature with large eyes stood. "You guys coming?" He asked when he realized he was the only one up on the platform with the rider. Everyone followed him up and spoke with the rider who lowered an elevator like thing for them to get in and be taken up to the back of the gentle giant.

The shoopuf launched from the dock from the command of its keeper, and out into the majestic, lucid watered Moonflow. About halfway on their voyage across the vast river Wakka pointed out some ruins of an old sunken machina city that sunk when the people became too greedy and built too much until it collapsed. Wakka, Lulu, and Yuna explained about a war that occurred a thousand years ago between the different peoples of Spira. Eventually, the people got too out of hand by building even more powerful machina as quickly as they could until they thought that they could destroy all of Spira. Then Sin came and wiped out all of the huge machina cities to keep the peoples of Spira from destroying it. Then Sin stayed around to keep reminding people of what not to do, and destroying any city that got too large.

"That's just not right. You shouldn't have to suffer for something people did a thousand years ago, right?" Lauren proclaimed. "It's just not fair and makes no sense!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms to her side as she rose from her seat upon the back of the massive shoopuf.

"Yeah, but that's the way things are and always have been since then." Wakka said trying to calm Lauren down. "We just have to repent for our sins and Sin will go away, forever. But, the Al Bhed keep screwin' everything up!" Just as the words passed over his lips the water began to tremble, shaking everyone from their positions. Lauren fell back down into her seat and Yuna shot up and looked around hastily in the water to see if she could spot anything.

"Sit down!" Auron commanded but before the young summoner could sit back down an Al Bhed leapt down from atop the canopy above the seats and snatched Yuna by the waist. He then continued to leap down into the crystal clear water below them, dragging Yuna down with him.

"Yuna!" Lauren yelled after her friend that had been taken under the water by the Al Bhed. "C'mon, we gotta go down there and save here!" The blonde guardian poised herself upon the side railing, readying herself to plunge into the water.

"Wait!" Tidus exclaimed. "You can't breathe underwater or hold your breath long like Wakka and I can you?" Lauren looked back at the blonde haired blitz ace and got back down into the basket thing upon the shoopuf's back.

"I know, but I have to do something! She's my friend!" The young guardian screamed and turned back to plunge herself into the waters to help Yuna.

"Here." Auron whipped out a small tube like metallic object from within one of the many pockets concealed within his crimson jacket. Lauren looked at the object and then up to the eldest guardian with a questioning gaze. "It's for breathing underwater. Just put it in your mouth and it will do the rest." He dropped the article in the blonde's hands and went back to his seat.

Lauren opened her mouth and placed the strange metallic object into her mouth and pressed her lips and teeth against it to hold it in position. She dove into the surprisingly chilly water, Wakka and Tidus following suit hastily. Once she was in the water she swam around trying to locate Yuna, but had little success until she saw something glistening in a stray ray of sunlight piercing the deep water. As she swam closer she could see that the thing wasn't just random fragment of metal but an entire functioning machina.

The bottom of the machina was just like the bottom half of the oblitzerator only the feet were folded together for there was no use for them in the water. The top portion looked exactly like the oblitzerator top, except instead of the two grinders there were three oddly shaped rods jutting out of it. Multicolored ribbon like things protruded from where the three rods met the body of the machina, each with a little amethyst orb glowing near the end. Atop the three poles sat a translucent sphere with Yuna standing trapped within, just floating in the center.

Lauren charged through the water toward the machina, her katana drawn out to her side and shimmering in the scattered rays of sunlight. As soon as she neared the machina the multicolored ribbon like things attached to the top half of it spun around violently, keeping her from a direct all out charge. She dove down below the machina and came back up where the tripod like legs opened up a bit where she could attack the machina without risking being assaulted by the machina's twirling ribbons. She hacked away at one of the legs, putting a huge dent into the knee joint of the leg, almost severing it in half. The machina dived down to counter her attack and struck her with the bottom of itself onto the back of her head. She fell through the water about twenty feet before she regained control over her body and stopped herself from falling down any farther.

Wakka hurled his blitzball through the chill water toward the center of the machina where the two arm like pieces opened up revealing some of the central body. The blitzball bounced back and forth between the right arm and the main body of the machina a few times before returning to its master's hands. A small metal door slipped open on the left arm of the machina revealing a red tipped torpedo resting within it. The torpedo launched out of the newly revealed hole and hurtled toward the orange haired blitzer at unimaginable speeds. The blitzer managed to evade the torpedo but it exploded right behind him sending him sailing through the water toward the machina.

Before the machina had anytime to lash out at Wakka as he drifted closer and closer to it, Tidus swooped in and hacked off one of the ribbons. Wakka regained control over himself and swam out of range of the machina's physical attacks ad waited. Tidus slipped past the machina's sensors and plunged brotherhood into the left arm, near where the torpedo launched at Wakka. Sparks spewed out of the hole as the blonde haired blitz ace wriggled brotherhood around in the jagged gash he created. One of the severed wires waved out of the gash and connected with Tidus' blade conveying a current of electricity into his arm. He let go of brotherhood and let it drift down through the clear waters, ending the electric shock being done to him.

Lauren swam back up under the machina and did a three sixty spin in between the tripod legs. The three legs snapped off with jagged edges and spewed out jet black oil into the water, clouding the teen's view as they drifted down to the riverbed. She felt the water around her wash down past her body, pushing her down a few feet and spinning her around. She gazed up to see a few compartment doors open up on the bottom of the machina and drop out a bunch of cylindrical containers. She tried to evade them but even though they missed striking her they still exploded around her. She was thrown around in all different directions as she moved from a spot where one depth charge exploded to another.

Tidus spotted Lauren being battered by the multitudes of depth charges and swam down to catch her as she fell through the water toward the riverbed. He caught her in his arms and reached into one of the pockets lining his black shorts and rummaged through them. Seconds later he produced a small, bluish colored vial from his right pocket and held it close to the incapacitated teen's mouth. He removed the breathing implement Auron had given her and popped the cork off of the end of the vial. He shoved the vial to her lips and tilted it back to release the bluish colored healing liquid into her mouth. She swallowed the healing liquid down her esophagus and into her blood system, spreading all throughout her body. The blonde teen girl let out a muffled cough in the water before Tidus replaced the vial with the metallic breathing implement that Auron gave her.

She smiled at Tidus and nodded her thanks before a lightning etched blitzball flew through the water above the two teens. The blitzball smashed into the machina where the right arm connected to the top portion of the machina. There was a loud cracking sound that was muffled a bit by the water as the blitzball tore through the armor plated machina arm. The arm fell off and began to sink through the water as sparks shot through the water, almost reaching the three in the water. The machina convulsed violently for about ten seconds before returning to normal as the electrical current was shut off from that sector of the machine.

The machina sent the multicolored ribbons into a whirlwind around itself and took off toward Tidus and Lauren. The two teens scattered, Tidus went down and Lauren went up to evade the machina's wild thrashing. The blonde blitz ace came up from underneath the machina and swam back up at her top speed and drove his blade into the bottom of the machine. He pushed it into the bottom of the machine all the way up to the hilt and then pushed forward on it with both his arms. Brotherhood's blade slipped right through the machina's metallic paneling and circuitry and popped out the bottom, creating a huge gash the length of his sword. Wires of all sorts of colors hung out from the massive gash, spewing a few sparks and giving Tidus a few singes on his flesh.

A compartment opened up and dropped out a depth charge on top of Tidus' head, exploding on impact. The blitz ace was blown down away from the machina with such force that could topple a small building. As he drifted at an accelerated speed away from the machina he regained control and flipped around and pushed out his sword in front of him, flat side facing outward, to slow down his descent. In a few seconds he stopped entirely and whirled around to see another of the depth charges headed straight for him. He had no time to react so he closed his eyes and held his breath as the depth charge sunk down toward him. All of a sudden he felt a wave of water pass over him with a high concentration of air bubbles. He opened his eyes to see the fragments of the depth charge drift in all different directions as Wakka's blitzball zipped back to him.

Lauren swam up to the machina, her katana bouncing against her waist in its sheath at her side. The machina was focused on Wakka so it didn't notice the blonde guardian as she swam toward the rods where the transparent sphere held Yuna. She reached for her katana hilt and wrapped her slender fingers around the hilt and leaned in toward it. She drew the katana blade out of its sheath at an incredible speed, her arm stretching out as far as she could reach in upward, diagonal motion. Nothing happened for a few seconds before a blade thick diagonal line appeared on the rod the teen guardian was in front of. The rod slid down away from the main body of the machina on that forty five degree angle, loosening the hold on the sphere that held Yuna. Lauren smiled at the fact that her attack had worked so well on the machine before she felt something rushing toward her.

The multihued ribbons attached to the machina began to spin uncontrollably as Lauren backed away from the machine, but she was too slow. The first ribbon slammed into her side sending her to her left a few feet from the impact of the rapid rotation of the ribbons against her side. The next one whacked her upside the head, almost knocking her unconscious and sending her into a state of frozen panic. She just floated in the water while being pummeled by the four remaining ribbons as they revolved around the machina hastily.

Tidus hastily swam up above the machina and then plunged down upon the top of the machine near where the ribbons were attached to the spinning circle in the middle of the machina. He jammed his sword deep into the rotating circle that spun the ribbons around, congesting up the rotating ring. The revolution of the ring came slowly to a halt, releasing Lauren from the brutal assault of the spinning ribbons. She drifted slowly down toward the riverbed before Wakka caught her in his arms and kept her from falling all the way. The multihued ribbons lay limp against the body of the machina as Tidus removed his blade from the ring of the machine sending a shower of sparks into the water.

Lauren shook her head as she felt a healing liquid flow through her body and fluttered open her turquoise eyes to see Wakka's smiling face. She smiled back at him and then looked back up to the machina to see that its remaining left arm had opened up all the hidden door panels on it, each harboring its own torpedo. Each of the crimson tipped torpedoes launched from their hiding spots within the arm of the machina and zipped through the crystal clear water toward Wakka and Lauren, leaving a trail of air bubbles behind each. The two guardians split up to the left and to the right as the torpedoes passed by them at mach speeds. To Wakka's and Lauren's horror the torpedoes swerved back around and came after the two guardians once again.

Wakka hurled his blitzball at one of the closest torpedoes causing it explode on impact and send a shockwave that set off another of the torpedoes. Lauren swam as fast as she could with two torpedoes trailing right behind her on either side of her body. As she swam she decided to do barrel rolls sending the two chasing torpedoes into a spinning loop, spinning faster and faster and growing closer and closer to each other. Finally the twin torpedoes gained enough speed that they collided and exploded, giving Lauren an extra boost of speed. Wakka, who had the last torpedo trailing him, swam toward the machina that had initially launched them at Lauren and him. He weaved in and out of the now floating in different positions ribbons until he had passed the machina and dived down to where he was at the middle of the machina's body. The torpedo crashed into the center of the machina, blowing a massive hole into the side of the machine causing it to sink farther down in the water.

Lauren headed toward the machina as it turned to hunt down Wakka, but as she drew near a large compartment opened up. From within the compartment shot out a large yellow colored, two pronged gun that could send electricity to a specified location without being spread out in water. Electricity began to charge around the twin yellow prongs as it aimed itself toward the blonde female guardian. Only seconds later the electricity jumped off of the twin prongs and headed straight for Lauren with a deafening static noise. Lauren held her ears to block out the unnerving sound as the lightning bolt traveled toward her, cutting through the water with ease and without being diverted.

The bolt struck the young guardian in the chest and spread throughout her entire body, encasing her in a prison of lightning. Her lungs burned as the electricity flowed throughout her body causing her to scream in pain and drop the metallic breathing piece Auron gave her out of her mouth. She could feel an intense burning sensation in her head as she continued to scream silently in pain. Her throat began to burn as she attempted to breath in whilst screaming out in pain and holding her chest with her right hand as if to keep her heart in. The lightning finally evaporated from around her, leaving her with pain, some singed flesh and no air left in her lungs. Her vision started to become very blurred and her eyelids became extremely heavy and began to close over her blurred vision. Then, out of nowhere she felt someone grab her and keep her from drifting away while placing something metal in her mouth.

Her turquoise eyes shot open with a sudden burst of oxygen to see Tidus floating there, his arms around her. She glanced down to see the metallic breathing implement Auron had given to her was there and also saw some small burn holes in her clothes. She closed her eyes, relieved that someone had saved her until the blitz ace shook her by her shoulders to keep her from falling asleep. Her eyes shot open and a sudden fire burned within them as she glanced over Tidus' shoulder at the machina. She released herself from the blonde blitz ace's supporting grip and out of nowhere teleported behind the machina.

Lauren drew her sword up across her neck and back behind her head as the machina whiled around to see her. Her katana blade began to glow in a dark purple radiance and grew over ten feet of pure energy. She twisted her torso as far as she could to gain as much momentum as humanly possible and swung her katana in a downward, diagonal slash. The machina split in half and slid away from each other with a ton of sparks and began to explode in several places. As the machina sank and exploded the sphere that imprisoned Yuna fell free from it and began to float toward the surface. Lauren's turquoise eyes gently slid shut and she began to drift down to the bottom of the Moonflow, but Tidus swam over and caught her once again in his arms and swam her to safety.

Wakka and Yuna got upon the back of the shoopuf followed closely by Tidus, carrying Lauren on his right shoulder. As Tidus lay Lauren down on the floor of the transport Yuna went over and trained her staff on her body. The white colored aura drifted off the summoner's staff and washed over the blonde guardian's wounded body, healing up her burns and cuts, as well as a few broken bones. Her turquoise eyes fluttered open slowly to see all her friends standing around her, except Auron, who never seemed to be interested in much. "Thanks again, Yuna." The white mage slash summoner smiled friendly down at Lauren.

"No, I should be thanking you for saving me." Yuna said as Lauren stood up.

"Damn the Al Bhed!" Wakka shouted. "What do they want from us? Could it have something to do with Luca? What are they after Yuna for? Wait! They're mad they lost the tournament! Or, wait! They're mad about Operation Mi'ihen!" The orange haired blitzer pondered about why the Al Bhed tried to kidnap Yuna.

"I wonder... Didn't Kimahri's clansman say something...about summoners...disappearing?" Lulu wondered aloud.

"Ah! So the Al Bhed are behind that! Those sand-blasted grease monkeys!" Wakka exclaimed, shaking his fist angrily in the air.

"Hey, Wakka. It's no use complaining about the Al Bhed now, right?" Tidus inquired. "We'll protect Yuna from anyone, anywhere. It's that easy. That's all I need to know!" He proclaimed with much confidence.

"Thank you." Yuna bowed her thanks to the young blitz ace and he just smiled and scratched the back of his head like it was nothing.

The shoopuf finally docked on the other side of the Moonflow after about another ten minutes after Lauren, Tidus, and Wakka returned to the ferry. A crowd of people wrapped themselves around Yuna, keeping her from moving anywhere for a while. Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri stood at the edge of the crowd and just watched and waited for the throng of people to disperse. Auron just stood near the shoopuf dock, also waiting for the throngs of people to leave Yuna alone. Lauren, being bored, wandered off down the road leading to the edge of a small, dense forest bordering the Moonflow.

As she wandered along the road, Lauren found her way to a little spot where water came up and met with the dirt road. Lying, washed up on the shore of that little spot, was a short girl clad in a multicolored wetsuit. As Lauren approached the figure she stood up and unclipped the head piece revealing her golden hair that was done up in a type of pony tail. She then continued to unzip the rest of her wetsuit revealing a leather orange tank top and short green shorts with what appeared to be frayed edges. The girl looked over toward Lauren and opened up her jade eyes, which amazingly had a swirl in them.

"Hi there. What's your name?" Lauren asked as she inspected the blonde with the swirling jade eyes.

"My name's Rikku!" She said in a very upbeat voice. "Ouch!" She rubbed her arm and the expression on her face changed from lighthearted to that of anguish.

"Are you alright?"

"No. Ouch!"

"What happened to you?" Lauren queried, looking at Rikku with much concern on her face.

"You beat me up, remember?" Rikku's face turned into a frown and she stared right up into Lauren's face.

"Wait, what! I didn't do anything to you. I've never even met you before." Lauren tried to clear her name, but ignorance wasn't going to do that.

"I was in that machina in the river." Rikku explained. "That really hurt, you know. You big meanie!" She hollered at a dumbfounded Lauren.

"What? But you attacked us and tried to kidnap Yuna!" Lauren proclaimed, once again trying to clear her name.

"Nuh-uh. It's not exactly what you think." Rikku shook her head and gazed into Lauren's eyes for understanding.

"Yo!" Wakka shouted from a little ways down the path as he and the rest of the group came up the road.

"Rikku! You're Rikku! Hey! You're okay!" Tidus hollered as he came up the path next to Wakka, soon taking the lead as he noticed Rikku.

"Friend of yours?" Wakka asked with a questioning look upon his face.

"Uh, you could say that."

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Rikku!" The young Al Bhed put out her hand to shake Wakka's. He took her hand and shook it in a friend handshake.

"Yuna, Lauren, Lulu...I told you about her, remember? She was the one who helped me before I was washed up on Besaid! She's an Al Bhe...beh..." Tidus trailed off in the presence of Wakka, the Al Bhed hating religious man.

"Wow, so you, like owe her your life! What luck meeting here, ya? Praise to be Yevon!" Wakka went into a little Yevon prayer. "So, uh... Rikku... You look a little beat up! You okay?" The Al Bhed just looked down and played with a rock with her foot.

"Uh, Wakka..." Lulu trialed off.

"Huh? What?"

"There's something we need to discuss." Yuna said drawing closer to Lulu.

"Oh, go ahead."

"Girls only Boys please wait over there!" Rikku exclaimed as she gather up Lauren, Yuna, and Lulu leaving the boys to wait for them to be done discussing whatever they were discussing.

Yuna and the rest of the girls came over to where Auron stood, waiting for their little group huddle to be over. "Sir Auron... I would like Rikku to be my guardian." Yuna admitted to the eldest guardian.

Auron looks at Rikku with a questioning glance. "Show me your face. Look at me." And with that she lifter her face up toward him and slowly opened up her left eye to reveal her jade swirled eye. "As I thought." Braska's former guardian stated.

"Um... No good?" Rikku queried looking up at the one eyed guardian.

"Are you certain?"

"A hundred percent!" Rikku exclaimed. "So, anyway... Can I?" She looked questioningly up at Auron.

"If Yuna wishes it." He looked over at the young, brunet summoner with his one eye.

"Yes, I do." She said calmly and bowed a little bit to Auron.

"Well, I'm for it! The more, the merrier!" Wakka exclaimed, still not noticing the fact that Rikku was one of the ones he has hated forever.

"Right on! Then I'll just have to be the merriest." Rikku cheered and shot her arm up into the air. Tidus seemed lost in thought as everyone else huddled around Rikku. "Rikku, at your service!" She had a great big smile painted upon her face.

A/N: Yay! Finally got to where Rikku comes in, woot! Anyway, i hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter, and once again i'm sorry for the extremly long update. I'll try to update the next chapter quicker. It's 4:30 in the morning, gotta get to bed. Cya later!


	7. Hating a Maester

Chapter Seven: Hating a Maester

**A/N**: Sorry guys for the long update time, but I've been busier than usual the past week.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Yep, four thirty in the morning. I stay up late, because it's the only time decent shows are on anymore, and wake up in the middle of the afternoon since I have no life what so ever. Well, I hope you enjoyed your trip and that must suck to have jet lag. I never have had it since I don't go anywhere.

**Spira'sSentry**: I'm glad you think that I describe all the scenes well and all. Yeah, the whole point of this fic is to tie her into the FFX storyline while at the same time making her own storyline. And about my other fic, if u didn't read it already, I updated it!

**Anasazi Darkmoon:** I'm very delighted to hear that you think that my fic is great and that I don't have to change anything; although, I really think it needs some work but then again I think all authors feel that way about their work. And I see that you took my advice and read Anbu713's stuff. What did I tell you, amazing stuff, eh? Anyway, yeah Guadosalam is next… unfortunately… that bastard Seymour, I'm not going to like writing the parts with him, until I get to write about kicking his creepy ass! Alas, that doesn't come in until… I think next chapter depending on how far I get with this one. So until then we'll have to put up with the disturbing bastard without doing anything to him.

**Fallen Angel-2009**: Glad to hear it and welcome aboard! Oh, I will continue this story until the end and I'm thinking of making a sequel. That is if I can come up with enough ideas for one.

After Rikku had joined as Yuna's guardian, the group of friends collected themselves and pushed on down a shaded semi-winding road leading to Guadosalam. While ambling down the dirt road in the shade of tall, lush trees, their canopies facing inward over the path, keeping it veiled in shadows, Yuna and her guardians ran into a few fiends. There were a few hard shelled, squat fiends that Rikku attempted to take out with her inconceivable speed, and agility with her clawed fist. Unfortunately for the young, blonde Al Bhed girl speed and agility was not what it took to defeat fiends such as those and she failed in her every attempt to slay them. Auron had to step into the fights which held the rigid shelled fiends to dispose of them with his mammoth sword when others could not.

The young Al Bhed did find use for her thievery skills when a treasure chest randomly appeared on the road along side two fiends. She ran in and eluded the fiends strikes until she reached the treasure chest and then with a flick of her wrist she unlocked the chest and extracted the plunder. After Tidus and Lauren disposed of the two agile lizards that accompanied the treasure chest Rikku looted the Al Bhed stood in front of her friends proudly holding up the items she had just pilfered. "Wow Rikku, that was amazing!" Lauren admitted as the blonde walked toward the group, treasures in hand.

"It's all in the wrist!" Rikku exclaimed cheerfully with a wide smile painted upon her face, under her bright, big jade swirled eyes.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Lauren queried, looking at the merry Al Bhed, her lighthearted smile contagious to the sixteen year old Lauren.

"To be honest I don't know where I picked it up from exactly." Rikku confessed, kicking a small dirt covered rock with her right foot playfully. "It's like one of those things that you just have a knack for, you know?" She gazed at Lauren to gauge her reaction and when she nodded to her comment she let another one of her friendly, carefree smiles become present on her face.

Before anyone could say anything more Auron cut in, "We don't have time for this meaningless chit-chat. We must leave for Guadosalam, now." He ordered as he strode past the two, once conversing blondes, and toward the Guado town.

"Well isn't he in a hurry!" Rikku complained after being just basically yelled at and pushed to the side as if she didn't matter to him at all.

"Sir Auron's just like that. He never wants us to stay in one place very long, nor does he want us to spend time doing things that don't have a positive effect on my pilgrimage." Yuna explained to cousin, walking up past her and staring down the road toward the Guado home. "We just have to understand and respect his decisions, even if they are a little harsh. So…" She glanced back at all her friends/guardians and smiled. "… let's go to Guadosalam!" She took off after her father's former guardian in a slight hurry.

"I don't know how Yuna can be so respectful to someone who acts like a jerk all the time and hurries us along like he's a sheepherder and we're the sheep." Lauren gazed off at her friend, who was walking hastily to catch up to Auron. Kimahri had followed Yuna as soon as she had taken off after the unsent guardian, as did Lulu. Tidus just shrugged to Lauren's inquiry and then followed after Yuna, leaving behind Rikku, Wakka and Lauren.

"She's respectful to Sir Auron because he was her father's guardian. He's a hero, too, because he was a guardian of a summoner who brought about the calm." Wakka tried to explain the young summoner's position to Lauren. "Even though he can be harsh at times, you should respect him, too, ya?" Lauren shrugged it off and just walked after her friends, Rikku following suit hastily and Wakka eventually catching up.

"Wow, this place is oddly designed." Lauren let out a small whistle as she gazed about Guadosalam. In front of the group stood a store built into the side of a pillar coming down from a massive ramp above them that led to an open door. To their left was a ramp that winded downward out of the town, letting its travelers out at the entrance to the dreary Thunder Plains. There were some homes also to the left of them that were built into the side of a wall that encircled around the entire town. Finally, in front of them stood a majestic palace with crimson colored double doors that was the home of Maester Seymour Guado and all the other Guado leaders of past days.

"This is Guadosalam, the home town of all Guado throughout Spira. Over there," Lulu pointed a smooth finger toward the majestic palace built into the wall surrounding the town. "is where the past leaders of the Guado lived, and now is the residence for Maester Seymour." Lauren cringed at the sound Seymour's name, but tried to hide her facial expression to prevent herself from being barraged with a ton of questions from the group, especially from Wakka.

An old looking Guado, with the large hands natural to all Guados, came around a corner and addressed Yuna. "We have been expecting you, Lady Yuna." The elderly Guado greeted the young summoner. "Welcome to Guadosalam. This way, my lady. This way." The elderly Guado pivoted on his heels and began to stroll away from the group.

"Hold on a second!" Lauren ordered the not yet introduced Guado. "Who are you, and what do you want with Yuna?" She stepped in front of the honey brown haired summoner protectively.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, I am called Tromell Guado." He introduced himself in a very calm and unemotional tone. "I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Lady Yuna." He gestured for her to follow him but she hesitated for a question.

"Business with me? Whatever could it be, I wonder?" She queried the older, polite Guado.

"Please, come inside the manor. All will be explained." Tromell elaborated. "Of course, your friends are also welcome." With that he turned toward the Guado manor and walked off, everyone following closely behind him.

Once inside the large manor where the Guado leaders of old had once resided Tromell spoke, "This way, please." He opened up twin doors leading into a chamber where Lauren and hr friends were meant to wait for Seymour to come and speak with Yuna. Before she followed her friends into the next room, Lauren looked around the room she was in. On either side of the main hall ran two curved staircases that led up to Seymour's chamber. Above each those stairwells on the walls sat a line of portraits of Guado leaders that once resided in this manor.

Lauren glanced along the rows of portraits till she came upon one that sent a surge of unbearable fear through her body. It was Seymour's portrait. 'Why does that guy freak me out so much? It's not like he has done anything to me, or anyone for that matter; however, I feel like he is going to do something terrible to Spira and that he has already done something horrible.' She shook her head of all the fear that his picture brought to her mind and then walked to the door to the other room, whilst thinking. 'The last time I saw him he gave me a creepy as hell smile that seemed like he knew who I was or has something planed for me. This guy can't be right in the head.'

Once Lauren was through the double doors leading into the hall where the rest of her friends, Yuna came up to her. "What were you doing in the other room Lauren?" The summoner's words broke her from the trance like state of though she was in.

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking around, that's all." She acted as if she wanted to get off the subject quickly, an act that Yuna caught onto swiftly.

"What's the matter? You seem like you're lost in thought about something that's troubling you." Her friend's concern filled words once again shook Lauren form her thoughts, making her come up with a quick answer.

"Nothing's the matter Yuna. I was just thinking." The blonde tried to avoid anymore conversation with her friend.

"Okay, but if anything's bothering you, you can tell me." The young summoner walked away from Lauren, the exact opposite of what she thought Yuna would do.

In the room, Rikku stood at a circular table near the center of the room, but offset toward he double doors. She was munching away at some of the various fruits strewn across the table bordering a large plant in the center of it that looked very strange to Lauren. Auron leaned his back against the wall to the left of the doors in his usual fashion, one foot upon the wall, his left arm in his sleeve sling, his one eye keeping watch over the room. Yuna was standing next to one of the two tables that sat on either side of the room, stretching almost the entire length of the walls. Wakka stood on the other side of the round center table where Rikku was eating some of the food set out for guests. Kimahri stood near Yuna but not too close as to suffocate her and Lulu was standing near the center table, diagonally across from the feasting Al Bhed. Tidus stood off by himself as if he was lost in thought and was awaiting Seymour to arrive rather patently.

Lauren wandered over to where Lulu stood, patently awaiting Seymour's arrival, to ask her a question. When the blonde teen got close to the black mage she turned to face her and began to explain something. "There's no temple here in Guadosalam, see? Summoners usually just pass through on their way elsewhere." The teen gawked at the mage oddly as if she had said something bizarre. "What?" Lulu hissed.

"Nothing, you just explained something that I already knew." Lauren smiled friendly at the unemotional black mage.

"I see. Usually you don't remember anything so I wanted to remind you." Lulu glanced over at the blonde teen to see a bright smile upon her face.

"Awww, Lulu. You do care!" Lauren joked as she threw her arms around the black mage's neck to add more to the effect. Lulu just stood there, shocked, as did everyone else present in the room except for Auron, who raised a curious eyebrow at the event, and Kimahri, who never reacted much to anything. "Jeez guys! I was just joking, don't be so serious." She released her arms from around the black mage's neck, and as if that was a trigger action everyone went back to what they were doing before the episode.

After a few moments of silence, Lulu spoke to Lauren. "Seems like you wanted to ask me something, what is it?" Her words took the teen in complete surprise; she had been lost in thought for the past two minutes and was startled by Lulu's voice.

"Oh, you're right! I was going to ask you something, it's about Seymour." Lulu raised a quizzical eyebrow at the mention of the Maester's name. "You see, every time I see him I get this feeling that just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not quite sure what it is but he just doesn't seem to be the type of guy that you would have as a high-up religious figure, or any as a matter of fact. So, I wanted to know, how come he got to be a Maester of Yevon?" She whispered this part of their conversation to not attract any unwanted attention from anyone else in the room.

"I don't quite understand how you could feel that way toward a Maester, but I'll answer your question." Lauren gave Lulu a lighthearted smile that showed her thanks to the black mage. "Well, his father, Jyscal, was a Maester before him and a great one at that for the Guado people. He was the first one to bring the teachings of Yevon to the Guado. After he had become a Maester, he wed a human woman to try to build a bridge between the human race and the Guados. He was held in high respects by the Guado people for trying to make their once ignored race to be friendly with the other races of Spira. Then, after his death, Seymour became the next leader of the Guado and become a Maester because of his father and his promises to bring Guado and human alike together like his father tried to." After Lulu's explanation, Lauren didn't seem satisfied with the way Seymour had gotten into power.

"So what you're saying is that he is only half Guado. Also, that the only reason that he got to become a Maester and leader of the Guado people was because of his father?" Lauren questioned drawing a nod of agreement from Lulu.

"Yes, I do not believe that he would have become a Maester if it was not for his father." Lauren seemed a little more satisfied with the comment that Lulu had just made than her entire explanation about him.

"Don't you think that it's wrong to just grant someone that kind of power just because their dad was someone of importance?" Lauren inquired, sending the mage onto a defensive rebuttal.

"Remember, Yuna is a summoner because of her father." The mage brought up a good point but Lauren thought up something to counter it.

"Yeah, but she became a summoner because she had the power to. Not just because her father was the last one to defeat Sin." Lauren tried to defend her position as well as defend her friend.

"If it weren't for her father, she wouldn't have been able to become a summoner. She just wouldn't have the strength for it, or the talent." Lulu burst Lauren's bubble sending her into a state of stuttering and confusion as she tried to keep up her end of the argument.

"Yeah, but…" Lauren started, but she was cut off by Lulu.

"Don't say any more." She ordered the blonde teen. "If you go around talking like that you will be arrested for blaspheme against the name of Yevon. Just keep your feelings and thoughts that pertain to Maesters inside your mind." Lauren raised her hand up as to make a point and opened her mouth, yet before she could speak Lulu cut her off once again. "Just keep your mouth shut. Others are not as open as I am." She warned before she turned away from the blonde.

'Well, that wasn't very nice Lulu.' Lauren thought angrily as she moved away from the black mage. 'Then again, she does have a point; however, I just can't stop thinking that Seymour just doesn't belong here, or anywhere.' She glanced around the room, just checking things out at first but then her gazed fixed itself onto Auron leaning up against the wall. 'Hmmm. He doesn't seem like much of a religious man, but he was Yuna's dad's guardian ten years ago.' She strolled over to where the one eyed guardian relaxed.

"Hey Auron." She friendly greeted the guardian that had annoyed her on several occasions. "I wanted to know, are you a religious man?" Her question drew his gaze from staring into space up to her face with an eyebrow cocked inquisitively.

"Why do you ask?" Was his only response to her query. She looked at him like she was annoyed at his question to her question but continued on anyway.

"I wanted to know because I wanted to talk to someone about Seymour." Lauren's reply to his question brought about another curious look upon his face.

"No, can't say that I am, at least not for the past ten years." The eldest guardian retorted, bringing joy to Lauren's facial expression fro being right about him not seeming like one. "What is it that you wish to ask me about Seymour?" The blonde teen let a smile appear on her lips for she thought that Auron, being the stubborn guy that he is, wouldn't have complied with answering her question.

"Do you think that he belongs in the position of Maester?" She asked Auron, trying to keep her voice low enough for no one else to hear her.

"What kind of question is that?" The one eyed guardian retorted as he let out a soft grunt of annoyance.

"I feel something about the guy that's just not quite right and I wanted to know if you, not being a religious man, felt the same way because everyone else seems to be a religious nut except for you." She tried to make Auron understand why she had asked him that kind of question.

"Those with power use that power. Maesters have power." Auron responded drawing a confused and angered look from Lauren.

'Who does he think he is talking like that, some kind of monk or something?' She thought as she gave him an annoyed look that she often gave him when he acted oddly toward her. "Okay, so that means you're with me in saying that he's not a good guy?" When he didn't respond to her she took that as a yes and smiled a little bit at her success in figuring out that Seymour was up to no good. "Thanks Auron." She whispered to him before leaving him alone to stare off into space again, but instead of staring off into space he remained focused on her.

'So, she has figured out that Seymour isn't as good as everyone else believes. That will make things a lot easier when the time comes.' He let out a small sigh and went back to staring off into space instead of at Lauren. 'Now, all there is to do is to train her so that she can overcome him.'

"Hiya Rikku!" Lauren greeted her newest friend as she rounded the large, circular table in the center of the floor after her chat with Auron.

"Hey Lauren!" The peppy Al Bhed acknowledged Lauren's presence and words as she continued to pick out various fruits and eat them rather hastily.

"What ya got there, Rikku?" Lauren queried as the blonde Al Bhed plucked another fruit from off a plate and was about to put it in her hungry mouth.

"Some kind of fruit. I don't know what it is exactly but oh boy is it good!" She exclaimed as she put the food into her mouth and began to chew it vigorously. Lauren smiled at her newly acquainted friend and picked up a piece of fruit that was beet red. She was just about to place it into her mouth when Tromell walked through the doors, Seymour not following him so she continued what she was doing and ate the fruit as the old Guado spoke.

"Truly, it is good to have guest again. Since Lord Jyscal passed away, these halls have been too quiet." Tromell seemed to get a little sad at his mentioning of Jyscal.

"The death of Lord Jyscal was a great loss for all of Spira." Yuna sympathized with Tromell's reaction to the death of his former master.

"Truly, a loss for us all. But now a new leader, Lord Seymour, has come before us. Lord Seymour is the child of a Guado and a human. He will be the tie that binds our two races together. But that is not all, I think. Lord Seymour... He will surely become the shining star that lights the way for all the peoples of Spira." Every time the old Guado mentioned the name Seymour Lauren felt something inside her click that brought upon a wave of uncertainty and anger that washed throughout her body.

The doors on the other side of the room creaked open and out stepped the Maester of Yevon, Seymour Guado. Lauren had to turn away from him to keep herself from being seen as she cringed at the sight of him. "That is enough, Tromell. Must I always endure such praise?" He had a gleam of arrogance in his eye that Lauren noted right off the bat. "Welcome!" He proclaimed to Lauren and her friends as he looked out over the faces of each and every one of Yuna's guardians, as well as at her. When his steely eyes came upon Lauren his facial expression wavered from friendly and welcoming to one of disappointment and anger, but only for a split second.

"You...wanted to see me?" Yuna spoke softly and unsure of herself to the eerie half human half Guado Maester that stood before her and her friends.

"Please, make yourselves at home. There's no rush." Seymour spoke in his usual eerie and soft voice that made everyone shiver that was present in the room; although, not everyone expressed it.

"Please, keep this short. Yuna must rush." Auron demanded from his nice little spot all the way in the back, leaning up against the wall leisurely.

"Pardon me. It has been a long time since I had guests. Lady Yuna, this way." He gestured for her, as well as her friends/guardians to follow him as the room darkened and images began to appear. The group hovered above colossal paved roads with tons of lights strewn on the sides for lighting for pedestrians. Buildings of incomparable status fazed into view from out of nowhere with lights lighting up the sides and tops of those buildings. The expression on Tidus' face changed from that of curiousness to that of sheer excitement as if he had just won the greatest blitz tournament.

"Zanarkand!" He exclaimed as he glanced around franticly, trying to take everything in as best he could.

"Correct, Zanarkand...as it looked one thousand years ago. The great and wondrous machina city, Zanarkand. She once lived in this metropolis." Seymour's voice sort of echoed in the room that contained the sphere they were witnessing right now.

"She, who?" Yuna queried curiously drawing the attention of Seymour, who had until now, been focusing on his surroundings instead of her. An image of a woman with flowing silver colored hair appeared in a golden room with a bed in the center in front of Lauren and her friends. The woman was scantily clad in a dark blue and silver bikini top and bottom. "Lady Yunalesca!" The young summoner exclaimed out of recognition of the scantily clothed woman.

"She was the first person to defeat Sin and save the world from its ravages." Seymour turned to face Yuna wholly "And you have inherited her name." His slithering voice brought a shiver down Lauren's spine as she looked at how the Maester was looking at Yuna.

"It was my father who named me." Yuna stated as she lowered her head as if to avoid Seymour's glance.

"Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task. He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Yunalesca did. However, Lady Yunalesca did not save the world alone. To defeat the undefeatable Sin...it took an unbreakable bond of love-of the kind that binds two hearts for eternity." At the end of his words a man clad in gold and red armor stepped through a door that was set in the left wall of the room. The man and Yunalesca met each other in a love embrace as the sphere began to fade and then made a flash. Seymour leaned down and spoke something into Yuna's left ear too softly for anyone to make out what he had said. He removed his head from hovering above her left shoulder leaving her in a state of shock and embarrassment.

"Wow! Your face is beet red!' Rikku exclaimed as Yuna's face began to gain the bright red color that is usually triggered by embarrassment.

"Yuna, you okay?" Lauren queried the young, honey brown haired summoner as she noticed what Rikku had noted just seconds before her.

"He...he asked me to marry him." Yuna stammered drawing completely surprised looks from all her friends/guardians except for the two emotionless guardians. Lauren backed away from her friend and to the back of the group as a wave of disgust overtook her that she just couldn't contain within herself. She cringed and almost threw up at the thought of Yuna marrying a creepy and disturbing bastard like him.

Lauren snapped out of her state of disgust to hear Auron almost try to talk Seymour out of it. "You know what Yuna must do." The one eyed guardian awaited the Maester's response intently.

"Of course. Lady Yuna-no, all summoners-are charged with bringing peace to Spira. But this means more than just defeating Sin. She must ease the suffering of all Spira. She must be a leader for the people. I proposed to Lady Yuna as a Maester of Yevon." Seymour replied to Auron's statement.

"Spira is no playhouse. A moment's diversion may amuse an audience, but it changes nothing." Auron was almost yelling at Seymour for even thinking of marrying Yuna.

'Go Auron!' Lauren thought from the back of the group. 'Finally someone is standing up to that creep!' She silently cheered him on in her head as Seymour continued to defend himself.

"Even so, the actors must play their parts." As his slithery voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter he turned toward Yuna to speak with her. "There's no need to answer right away. Please, think it over." He looked at Yuna a second before Auron interrupted his stare.

"We will do so, then. We leave." He commanded as he turned away from the Maester and toward the door.

"Lady Yuna. I await your favorable reply." Seymour bid farewell to the young summoner before turning toward Auron, who had his back now turned on the Maester. "Why are you still here, sir?" Braska's former guardian pivoted on his heels and gave Seymour a puzzled look. "I beg your pardon. We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane." The Guado Maester stated but Auron had not paid much attention to him and faced back and headed for the door. On his way out, Tidus sniffed at Auron, stupidly, trying to see if he could smell anything but the one eyed guardian shoved him out of the way and stormed off out of the room before any further questions could be raised.

'What would Auron have to do with the farplane?' Lauren thought as she followed the disgruntled guardian out the door in the midst of the rest of her friends. 'The farplane is where the pyreflies go after some living thing has been killed. So why would Auron have the scent of the farplane on him, unless he himself is… no he couldn't be.' The thought was soon erased from her mind as the voice of Tidus came in clear as a bell.

"Yo Lauren, you alright?" The blonde blitz ace queried after seeing the trance like state that Lauren was in as she thought about what Seymour had said to Auron.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied as she shook her head to clear the many questions building up in her head about the mysterious former guardian of Braska.

"Yuna, the high summoner's daughter, Seymour, the leader of the Guado. Married in the name of Yevon, overcoming the barriers of race." Lulu stated out of the blue as the entire group rested silently outside of Seymour's manor. "It would give Spira something cheery to talk about, for a change" She sounded as if she actually was okay with Yuna marrying Seymour if the young summoner wished to.

"Sounds just like a passin' daydream, like Auron says." Wakka did seem like he was too pleased with the idea of Yuna, who he felt was like a younger sister to him, marrying Seymour, even if he is a Maester of the faith the blitzer followed devoutly.

"Yuna can't marry Seymour!" Lauren voiced her feelings rather loudly and with absolute resolve. "I know that he's a Maester and that it would bring some happiness to the people of Spira, but he's just not right for you, Yuna!" The blonde teen's comment drew wide mouthed surprise from each of her friends except for the two who never showed much or any emotion.

"If my getting married would help Spira...if it would make people happy... If I could do that for people...maybe I should do what I can." Yuna paused a moment in between phrases to gather her feelings. "I never imagined doing anything like this. But, I won't answer till I know what's right." Her honey brown hair waved a little in a slight breeze that crept through the Guado town as her friends were slightly relieved that she hadn't said yes to Seymour's proposal.

"But Yuna, how are you going figure out what you think is right?" Lauren inquired to her summoner friend as they stood in the center of the Guado home town.

"I'm going to the Farplane." Yuna said as she glanced over at the ramp leading up to the door into the farplane. "I'm going to see my father and think on this." Lauren and Tidus seemed a little more than surprised at Yuna's reason for going to the farplane.

"Wait, you're going to see your dad who is dead in the farplane. So, you're going into the place where dead people live to see him and seek his advice, correct?" Yuna nodded to Lauren's question and gave her a weak smile.

"Go on, we'll be right behind you." Yuna bowed to her friends and then went off up the ramp toward the entrance to the farplane, Kimahri following closely behind. Lulu walked off after Yuna and her Ronso guardian, Wakka trailing behind her then Rikku, then Auron, then Tidus and finally Lauren.

Once she had strode up the ramp and through the entrance into a place where there were two flights of stairs, Lauren noticed Auron sitting on the side of the stairs, Tidus right next to him, chatting. The only part of the conversation between the two was, "You're scared!" Tidus joked with the one eyed guardian.

"Searching the past to find the future... This is all that is there. I need it not... You'd better be going." Auron retorted at the blonde blitz ace causing him to leave the irritated guardian to himself.

Tidus went into the farplane shortly after Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri had passed thought he greenish blue barrier between the different realms. Lauren found herself standing on the landing before the barrier where Auron stood off to the side. From behind her Rikku came around to the side of her and spoke. "You're not really going to see the dead, more like your memories of them. People think of their relatives, and the pyreflies react to them. They take on the form of the dead person-an illusion, nothing else." The adolescent Al Bhed explained to Lauren as she stood there and focused on the barrier between where she was and the farplane.

'That means if I go in I can see Brian again! But, it will only be the pyreflies reacting to my memories of him as Rikku said, so maybe, I shouldn't go.' Lauren thought as Rikku took a seat off to the left hand side of the teen.

"Well, if you're going in there you better get going before Yunie finds out what she needs to." Rikku suggested that Lauren better get moving, but instead of moving forward and going through the barrier she turned and walked over to the cheerful AL Bhed. "What's up, Lauren?" She inquired as the teen guardian made her was over to her.

"Why aren't you going in there with the rest of them?" At Lauren's question Rikku hung her head down as to hide her eyes and then spoke a second later.

"I keep my memories inside." Lauren seemed a little more than confused at the statement that her blonde Al Bhed friend had just said. "Memories are nice, but that's all they are." With this second, revised, edition of her statement Lauren seemed to be more understanding and open. "Why aren't you going in there? You scared like Auron?" She joked drawing an annoyed glace from the one eyed guardian across the landing.

"No, I feel the same way you do, basically. I just don't think I could handle going in there." Lauren admitted to Rikku, who gave her an understanding, yet confused look.

"What couldn't you handle?" Rikku asked, apparently not getting the meaning of Lauren's previous statement.

"I lost someone very close to me about a year ago and I just don't think that I would be able to keep myself together if I saw him again." Lauren's turquoise eyes began to well up with chill, clear tears that she tried to keep hidden from Rikku.

"Who was he?" Rikku asked innocently trying to figure everything out that she could so that she might be able to help Lauren out in some way for form.

"My… boyfriend, Brian." She whispered, tears beginning to streak down her cheeks and off the tip of her chin. She reached into her sweatshirt and produced the locket with her former boyfriend's picture in it and showed it to Rikku. "This is him." The young Al Bhed gazed at the picture of the boy with the spiked jet black hair and dreamy blue eyes.

"He's cute." Rikku said absentmindedly as she gazed at the picture of Brian in the golden locket within Lauren's palm.

"Yeah… he was." Lauren closed the golden locket and pressed it against her heart softly. Tears now freely flowed down her face, leaving little spots on the ground where the water had collided with the flooring.

"What happened to him?" Rikku queried but then caught herself and said, "That is if you want to talk about it. You don't have to if you don't want to. I just wanted to know so I could try to make you feel better." Lauren lifter her head and smiled a grateful smile whilst tears streaked her face.

"It's okay Rikku. I'll tell you the story, after all, Yuna said that it was good to talk about things with people and she was right." Lauren began to tell Rikku the same exact story about Brian that she had told Yuna back on the S.S. Winno. After she had told her story, Lauren looked up at Rikku's face which now harbored a pair of reddened jade eyes and tears streaking her cheeks.

"Lauren… I'm so sorry. That's the saddest thing I ever head in my life." Rikku managed to utter through her many sniffles. Lauren gazed into Rikku's jade swirl eyes and gave her a smile through her own tears that the Al Bhed copied.

"Thanks, Rikku. I feel a little bit better, again." She continued to smile at the AL Bhed as did Rikku to her. "I gotta thank Yuna again for her help, but I guess I'll just wait for her to come out." Lauren sat next to Rikku on the railing like thing on the left side of the landing. Auron glanced over at the two teens and gave himself a little shrug and then went back to minding his own business while the two blondes talked together.

"Lauren, where are you from?" Rikku queried after both of them had recovered from crying. Lauren gave the adolescent Al Bhed a look that said 'huh?' so she continued on the make the blonde understand. "Your name, it's not like those found here in Spira, and from the way you dress, your clothes aren't either." Lauren looked at Rikku for a moment before she went on with her reply.

"You're right! I'm not from Spira, but most people don't believe me, except for Yuna and probably Tidus." Her comment seemed to kind of hurt Rikku.

"I believe you!" Rikku exclaimed for she was interested in where Lauren had come from since she wasn't from Spira.

"Well thanks Rikku." Lauren smiled friendly at the hyper Al Bhed sitting beside her. "Well, I come from a planet called Earth. It's a lot like Spira, only it doesn't have fiends and it is more advanced, technology wise. I don't know if you would say the same about the way people treat each other, but I guess that's not important. I come from a large city called Chicago. I think it's about the equivalent of the Bevelle here if I understood them correctly, only it's not a religious center." Lauren explained Earth and Chicago to the hyperactive AL Bhed that sat patiently next to her.

"That sounds like an interesting place to live. Do you have machina on Earth?" Rikku queried being the machina crazy Al Bhed she is.

"Yeah, but we don't call them machina. We call them robots and their basically like your machina here but they're mostly not used as weapons as much as other things, unlike what it seems like you guys use machina for. With operation Mi'ihen and Yuna's two kidnappings, I'd say that you use machina more as weapons than for any other tasks." Lauren elaborated on some more of Earth's features.

"We only use machina as weapons because we have friends here. And about Yunie's kidnappings, it's not what you think." Lauren gave Rikku a questioning look when she said about the kidnappings not being what the seemed.

"What do you mean by you kidnapping Yuna not being what we think. You came and kidnapped her off of that shoopuf thingy and then attacked us with hat machina in the water. There's also in Luca with the other machina. After all that how can you possibly think you can make me believe that it's not what it seems?" Lauren stood up and in front of Rikku, the shorter of the two.

"Please Lauren, you got to believe me! We're not kidnapping them. We are trying to save summoners from… from…" Rikku stammered the last word not wanting to say anything that she didn't have to. Lauren stood in front of the shorter blonde with a mixed look of confusion and annoyance upon her face.

"Save them from what, Rikku? What were you guys trying to save summoners from?" Lauren had calmed down and was now asking Rikku as if it was any other question under any calm situation.

Before Rikku could say anything of before Lauren could pester her until she said something, Auron called to Lauren. "Lauren." The eldest guardian's stern voice brought the blonde teen's attention away from Rikku and toward him. "Come here." She obliged with his command and strode over to where he was now standing upright and in the middle of the landing. As she drew closer to him he reached into his crimson coat and pulled out a pouch that the mysterious man on the road had given him. With a casual flick of his wrist he tosses the pouch of money off the side of the steps and into the chasm below.

"Auron, what was that?" Lauren inquired as the tightly sealed pouch of cash flew out of sight.

"That is not important." He stated bluntly with his usual monotone voice. "Draw your sword." He ordered her and for a moment she just stood there staring at him with wondering eyes. After that moment, Auron drew his massive blade and shouldered it onto his right shoulder and waited for Lauren to draw her katana. She was not obliging with his command. "Draw your weapon or fight weaponless." He rushed at her at his top speed across the landing causing her to roll to the side to evade a deadly stoke form his massive blade.

"Auron why do you keep doing this!" Lauren shouted as she eluded another fatal blade stroke from the sword master's devastating sword.

"You must become stronger if you wish not to falter from your path." He charged up at her, but this time she flung her katana out of its sheath and blocked a downward slash from Auron's blade above her head.

"What on Earth are you talking about!" She hollered in the guardian's face as their blades clashes together, sending small sparks sailing through the air from the points where their swords scraped against one another. Lauren's muscles tightened as much as they possibly could as she pressed her katana blade against Auron's massive sword's blade with all her might.

"A test of your physical and metal strength lays not too distant in your future. From what I have seen, you are not ready for that test yet." Auron explained as his muscles overpowered Lauren's, knocking her back away from him about five feet onto the flight of stairs leading up to the farplane barrier. She got up shakily, yet hurriedly upon her feet and just began to focus when Braska's former guardian's sword was right in front of her face to the right. She had no time to block the blow with her blade so instead she ducked down under the commanding stroke, letting it fly over her blonde haired head harmlessly.

After she eluded the sword master's horizontal slash, Lauren shot back up and brought her katana up in a diagonal slash from across her body as if it had just been summoned from the sheath. Auron tilted his sword's tip down at the ground off to his right and blocked the blonde teen's attempt to catch him off guard. Her katana blade bounced off the oversized, rigid sword almost causing her to trip over the stairs behind her as she strived to stabilize her arm from the abrupt ricochet. The one eyed guardian grasped the blonde swiftly with his left hand and spun around on his heels whist tossing her to the ground opposite to where she was before.

Auron dropped his massive blade down upon Lauren, who had still not gotten off the ground after he threw her. She opened her pained eyes to see the image of the eldest guardian's blade drawing closer to her neck and reacted at neck break speeds. She pencil rolled to the right just as the blade drove itself into the concrete where her head once lay. Once out of the way of the blow, Lauren shot her right leg out and struck the blade master's sword square in the precise center of the blade. Auron felt his sword get torn away from his firm grasp and sent flying to his right, boring a hole in the side wall Rikku was sitting on. The adolescent AL Bhed leapt out of her seat and to her left as the blade wedged itself into the barrier only inches away from her right thigh.

"Watch it you two!" Rikku scolded the two combatants with a shaky voice, like after you were just in a near death situation. They both ignored the shouting Al Bhed causing her to get even more angry with them. "I'm not in the fight, so leave me out!" She hollered at the two fighters once again, still drawing neither of their attentions as Lauren attempted a sword blow while Auron was unarmed. He simply caught the falling blade in the palms of his hands causing Lauren to drop her jaw and then wrenched it out of her grasp. He pitched the lightweight katana over the head of its owner and reached for his much heavier blade as the blonde guardian scrambled for hers.

Both of the guardian's reached their respective sword hilts at the same time and whirled into one another's slashes. Their blades were once again locked and Lauren knew that she had to find another way to come out on top of this deadlock other than brute force. Auron eyed the teen with wonder as she let herself be overcome and dropped to the ground as his blade continued on it path down. He stopped his sword a quarter inch in front Lauren's body, drawing a sly smile from the blonde. She swung her left leg out right at Auron's legs, taking him completely by surprise, for he thought she had given up, and toppling him to the ground face first.

Lauren shot up, a smile beaming from her face for outsmarting a legendary swordsman when she is only an inexperienced sixteen year old girl. She raised her katana above the one eyed guardian, poised for her to plunge it into his chest. Her katana blade flew down at the guardian's chest, but much to her surprise the eldest guardian managed to outmaneuver its swift strike. The tip of the katana blade bore a half inch hole into the gray concrete of the stair landing right where Auron had just been. The older guardian stood slowly up onto his feet, bringing his oversized sword up onto his right shoulder as he did so.

Auron peered from behind his sunglasses at Lauren with a studying look. "You still have much to learn. You must learn to concentrate on your opponent and be able to read their moves to know where and how they will attack." He rocketed toward the blonde teen at a speed inconceivable for how he looked to Lauren and everyone else. She threw up her katana in front of her face, the sound of metal on metal resonating throughout the expanse where the stairs leading to the farplane resided. Lauren's feet skidded along the concrete flooring back toward the flight of stairs that led down and out of the farplane. She could feel her muscles giving way under the extreme pressure being exerted by the master swordsman as their blades continued to be pressed against one another.

Lauren was just about at the edge of the top stair when all of a sudden Auron released his pressure upon her katana and pointed the tip of his massive sword toward the ground to the right of him. He brought it in a diagonal slash that Lauren evaded by leaping to her left as the blade came close to her body. The sword master halted his diagonal slash and sent it in an arc in his right hand in the direction of where the blonde teen had moved. She caught sight of the blade out of the corner of her eye and brought up her katana blade to her right side to bar the path of the immense sword. The sound of metal on metal once again radiated off the two blades as they came together filled the ears of the three present.

The blow from Auron's enormous sword shattered Lauren's feeble defense sending her back a few feet onto her butt. She winced in pain as her tail bone became sore from the fall but had to get back into the fray, for Auron's blade was only a foot away from her. The teenage guardian rolled to her left, eluding a quick, yet forceful blow from the older guardian's downward slash. His sword recoiled off the ground and shook in its master's hands for two seconds before he regained complete control over it and went after the blonde yet again.

"I didn't think you would last this long." Auron stopped in mid stride to express his surprise about Lauren's skills. "But, let's see how good you do against this." As his words left his mouth he leapt into the air, pulling a three sixty with his sword held pointed down toward the ground. As his feet touched the ground his knees buckled allowing him to kneel on one knee whilst plunging his massive sword into the concrete flooring. Around the point of permeation, a gold and black circle formed, giving off a faint glow of the same colors. Lauren stood in wide mouthed awe as circles of the same luminosity exploded in an arch coming up on the teen's flanks.

The explosions drew closer and closer to her, but Lauren, for some inexplicit reason, could not budge an inch out of the course of the closing in blasts. The teen glanced down at her feet to see the same gold and black glow beneath her feet that came before each of the explosions and after Auron's blade sank into the ground. Lauren felt a strange pain shoot through her body, starting at her feet and slowly creeping up her legs and then through the rest o her body. At the same time that the teen guardian felt the pain erupt from below her, she also felt her body begin to be lifted off the ground. Following the series of explosions, Lauren felt herself fly backward through the air and then felt a wave of pain wash over her body as she collided with the upper flight of stairs. Darkness flooded the blonde's eyes as she felt all consciousness rush out of her with the last few breaths she breathed before she remembered nothing more but gloom.

Auron strode up to where the unconscious girl lay, injured on the second flight of stairs before the barrier to the farplane. "Hmph!" He grunted, glancing over the incapacitated Lauren. "If you had more training you would have been able to evade that or even stand it." He put away his immense sword and strolled back over to where he stood before he and the teen engaged in their sparing match.

Rikku rushed over to where Lauren lay limp on the stairs and lifted up her head and tried to wake her, but her acts were in vain. "You hurt her, you big meanie!" The young, blonde girl hollered at the one eyed guardian who simply stared off into space, acting like he didn't even acknowledge her cry. "Why did you do this to her?" The Al Bhed rested the unconscious teen's head gently back down on the stairs and stomped off toward Auron, who still paid her no attention. "We're on the same side, you know?" The eldest guardian still did not acknowledge any of the Al Bhed's complaints. "Are you listening to me!"

Auron cocked his head toward Rikku and glanced at her from beneath his tinted sunglasses. "No." He responded bitterly in his unemotional voice.

Rikku's mouth dropped open like she had just heard the most shocking news in her entire life. "Why not! Don't you feel bad at all that you hurt poor Lauren? She has enough problems to worry about without having to worry about you beating the crap out of her!" Her words still seemed as though they didn't reach the swordsman's ears.

"She has to learn how to handle herself. She has a destiny to fulfill and when the time comes the only thing she will be able to count on is her own personal strengths. I can only do so much before that time comes without delaying Yuna's pilgrimage." After a few seconds of silence between the two, Auron tried to justify treating Lauren harshly.

"What are you talking about? Lauren's only a young girl! How can she be able to fulfill a destiny when she's so young and isn't a big part of anything yet?" Rikku yelled at the one eyed guardian drawing a slightly amused look from him.

"You, too, have a destiny to fulfill, and so does Lauren. Is it so hard to believe that age matters not, but what matters is how you handle yourself when the time comes, no matter what it is that may lay before you." Auron looked over at Rikku to gauge her reaction to his statements.

"Yeah, but…" Rikku trailed off leaving Auron with an opportunity to persuade her even more that Lauren will be fine.

"I know not is she is ready for the task ahead of her so I must train her hard if she is to survive her confrontation with her destiny." Rikku had a look on her face that was still not convinced that what Auron had done was right and that Lauren had a great destiny to fill. "If she cannot escape my attacks then she will never be able to conquer what is ahead of her, for those events and enemies are tougher than I am, and have less restraint." Braska's former guardian's words brought a new expression to the adolescent Al Bhed's face, that of fear.

"You're saying that Lauren is going to be in a lot of trouble soon?" Rikku's voice showed a hint of fear as well as concern for her newly acquainted friend. "What kind of things is she going to be up against, fiends, or something else?" Auron did not look over at her after she had inquired about the dangers that lay ahead of Lauren. "Did you hear me?" She stood right in front of the elder guardian and glared up into his face.

"I cannot tell you that information." Rikku's facial expression went from that of annoyance to that of sheer anger. "I see that you two have grown close even though you have only known each other for most of a day now. If I were to tell you, you would tell her and then she would breakdown and not want to proceed on her path, which is something that _cannot_ happen." Auron glanced over his large collar and through his sunglasses down at the shorter girl to see an expression of understanding instead of what he expected to see, that of anger.

Rikku's gaze shifted from that of Lauren, unconscious, on the stairs to up above her. Through the greenish blue barrier that separated the mortal realm from that of the farplane came Yuna, followed by everyone else. Yuna spotted Lauren on the stairs and asked, "What happened to her?" To her cousin, Rikku's jade swirl eyes shifting their focus from Lauren to Yuna.

"Auron and Lauren had a sparring match, but I think he went a _little_ bit overboard." Yuna shot her gaze over to the one eyed guardian standing against the side wall for the stars.

"Sir Auron, why?" Yuna's voice was softer than usual and had an edge of disappointment laced in it. Auron merely glanced up at her from behind his sunglasses, his facial expression blank as ever.

"I do not need to explain myself again." Auron looked away from the honey brown haired summoner and took a step forward. "Now, let's get going. We have already postponed you pilgrimage enough." He continued his stride until the voice of an unknown Guado rang out through the silence that Auron had created.

"Lord Jyscal!" The Guado shouted at an old, feebly moving figure at the top of the stairs that was trying to break free from the grip of the farplane. The group whirled around to see the once proud leader of the Guado and Maester of Yevon moving slowly toward them.

"He does not belong here." Auron stated flatly drawing a questioning expression on Yuna's face as she gawked at Jyscal lumbering toward her. "Yuna, send him." With that the guardian fell to his knees and felt a strange presence over him that no one else noted or even saw that he was kneeling.

"Lord Jyscal..." Yuna whispered under hear breath as she continued to stare at the awkwardly moving figure.

"He is Lord Jyscal no more. Send him now!" Lulu commanded the younger summoner that she considered a younger sister to her. Yuna obliged with the black mage and executed the mandate by walking up to the disfigured Jyscal. She twirled her staff around in an assortment of ways before the figure began to dissipate into pyreflies that floated harmoniously back into the farplane. As the pyreflies disappeared a sphere dropped out of where the image of Jyscal stood only seconds before and bounced down the stairs to Yuna. She hurriedly scooped the sphere up and placed it in a pouch that she had in her kimono like garments.

"Talk later. We leave now." Auron commanded as he got off his knees after being relieved of the odd feeling he felt when Jyscal was trying to pass back to this realm. Tidus picked up the incapacitated Lauren and carried her in his arms down the stairs to follow the rest of his friends back into Guadosalam.

"Hey guys! Don't you think we should put Lauren somewhere?" Tidus queried as he came into the rest of his friend's views, Lauren draped gently in his arms. Auron let out an angered sigh as he mentally slapped himself in the face for injuring her because now it meant that they had to wait around for her to come to.

"Put her in the inn, ya?" Wakka suggested to the blonde blitz ace causing Tidus to stride past the group of his friends and down the ramp and around to the inn to let Lauren rest on a bed till she became conscious once again.

Tidus emerged from the inn a moment later, Lauren free, and strolled up to his friends in time to hear Yuna say, "I'll go... meet with Maester Seymour." The summoner began to walk off toward the palace where Seymour resided, but Auron's voice stalled her for a moment.

"Yuna! Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours." The young summoner nodded back to Auron before she pivoted on her heels and resumed heading for the Seymour's place.

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Lauren found herself in a dark void with absolutely no light, yet she could see a strange, yet familiar bluish white fog enveloping her. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to shake this place from her vision but it did not leave her. After a few moments of complete and utter silence, a figure revealed itself to Lauren, the same one as when she was brought to Spira. "You." The blonde uttered at the appearance of the figure cloaked in shadow. "Why am I here again? Dose this mean I can go home now?" The teen inquired but the figure did not speak for a moment, but when it did Lauren didn't want to listen.

"You cannot go home now." The floating figured replied with a chilled voice that sent cold shivers down Lauren's spine.

"Then why have you brought me here!" The blonde teen's face shone bright red with anger as her hopes were dashed by the figure's uncaring personality.

"I have brought you here to tell you a few things that are important." The figure responded to Lauren outburst as a wave of fog washed over the silhouette of its body.

"What are those things, and why are they so important that you had to bring me here to tell me?" Lauren moved in closer to the figure as she shivered in the shilling bluish white fog that sparkles as if there were ice crystals reflecting some kind of light even though none was present.

"Well, I cannot speak to you when you are conscious or in any other place other than this void." The figure replied to one of Lauren's questions. "To answer your other question the importance of the things I'm going to relay to you is vital for your survival in this world and in you own." The figure paused in its speaking causing Lauren to take its stead.

"Then what are these things?" Lauren inched closer to the figure once again.

"You must seek the advice of Auron. He will teach you how to conquer the physical parts of the events that are ahead of you. He'll teach you how to tap into your power to be able to perform skills of vast power, such as those you did on Kilika and in the Moonflow." The figure elaborated on the things it was brought Lauren here to inform her.

"Okay." Lauren agreed with the figure's explanation. "I hope he doesn't try to teach me like he did this time. That hurt, a lot." The blonde teen got a crick out of her neck. "So, is there anything else you wanted to tell me before sending me back?" The figure remained silent as if reluctant to say the next thing because it didn't know how Lauren would react to it.

"Do you know why you keep thinking of Brian here?" Lauren's face paled at the name of her ex-boyfriend and her jaw hung down. "The reason for that is… he is alive, here in Spira." The blonde teen's turquoise eyes widened as far as humanly possible and maybe a bit more and she was speechless. "I do not know where, and for that I am sorry, but he is still very much alive. I know you have felt something, haven't you?" Lauren gave a small nod at the figure's statement. "Only, there is a problem with that. The enemy has him and they have a plan that includes him to do something to you. I do not know anymore, but you must seek Auron's teachings if you wish to overcome it and be with him once more."

"But… but how can this be possible? He... he was killed about a year ago in our world. How could he be brought her, and alive too?" Lauren's breath was shallow and fast as she stumbled over her words trying to make sense of it all.

"You died too in your world, remember?" Lauren nodded, still in wide eyed awe. "Only with you we were able to restore your body for you to go back to your own life when you had fulfilled your destiny. With him we did not restore his body in your world, but somehow someone managed to resurrect him here, in Spira, for their sinister plot."

"Wait…" A terrible thought dawned on her as the figured finished its statements. "That means… no! It can't be!" Lauren shouted at the figure and grabbed it by its neck.

"Correct. Even if you manage to save him and all goes well for you, he will not be able to go back with you to your old life because he doesn't have a body in your world." The figure spoke easily even though Lauren had her hands tightly ringing it neck.

"Then… then what's the point in doing anything!" She cried as her grip around the figured throat loosened until she let go completely and sank to the floor. "Even if I save him I can't be with him! So what's the point? Tell me. What's the point in doing anything if I can't be with him if he's alive!" She shouted through her sobs at the figure while kneeling on the ground, palms resting on her thighs as tears dripped off the end of her chin.

"There is a way that he can come with you back into your world. Unfortunately, I do not retain such knowledge; however, I will keep an eye out for it and if I come across it I would gladly inform you." Lauren gazed up at the figure, tears streaking her face and her eyes quivering with sadness. "I will now send you back to your friends, they are eagerly awaiting for you to wake up so you can proceed with the pilgrimage." Everything in Lauren's view began to fade to black and she felt a strange energy wash over her that gave her a numb feeling and that eventually made her eyes close on her.

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"I hope she wakes up soon." Rikku stood at Lauren's bedside along with Tidus and Wakka. The teen's eyes fluttered open slowly much to the delight of the three standing around her.

"Lauren, you're awake!" Rikku and Tidus exclaimed in unison as their friend gained control of herself and sat up in the bed in the inn.

"Where am I?" She queried to the three friends hovering around her bed.

"You're in the inn in Guadosalam." Wakka explained. "After you went unconscious from Auron's little sparring match with you, Tidus took you in here to let you rest."

"Thanks Tidus." Lauren showed her gratitude to the blitz ace, who just smiled at her which she returned with an even bigger smile. "So, where is everyone else?" She inquired about the location of her other friends.

"They're outside waiting for you." Rikku elaborated in her usual giddy voice. "Yunie went to see Seymour but it turns out that he left for the Macalania temple while she was in the farplane." The Al Bhed added to her previous explanation.

"Then let's get going since everyone is waiting on me." Lauren said as she rose from the bed she was sleeping in and followed her friends out of the Guado inn.

"I see you are awake now." Lulu greeted Lauren as she came out of the inn after Rikku, Tidus and Wakka.

"Are you alright, Lauren?" Yuna asked curiously to her blonde friend.

"Yeah Yuna, I'm fine now."

"We don't have time for this idle chit chat. We have already delayed Yuna's pilgrimage enough today." Auron stated as he headed for a ramp leading down and out of the Guado home town.

"As bossy as ever." Lauren put her hands on the back of her and strolled after the one eyed guardian down the ramp leading into the Thunder Plains, the rest of the group following suit hastily.

A/N: Wow. I didn't think I could write an almost eighteen page chapter on just Guadosalam. I thought this chapter would have at least gotten us to Macalania Woods. I am open to criticism, so if there is anything that you think I should change/make better, please of the love of god tell me so I can improve myself. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait for your reviews, later!


	8. Mixed Emotions

Chapter Eight: Mixed Emotions

A/N: Hey guys, here's the next chapter for you. I want to take this time to say that I'm very grateful that you all have kept up with my fic and have reviewed it. A special thanks to Fallen Angel-2009 for editing this chapter. Anyway, the next chapter may be a little delayed because I'm going to try to write the next chapter for my other fic but hopefully that won't take too long since I have shorter chapters in that than in this fic.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Wow, big dogs! I've never been around dogs that big but my neighbors and my friend have dogs like that. So, how is the France countryside? Anyway, glad to hear that you still think my fic is great, but if there is anything at all that you could suggest to make my writing better please say something, please!

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Well, you know Auron. He usually goes overboard one way or another and pushes someone to the edge. He also has no remorse for anything that he does so he can do whatever he wants and he won't feel bad or anything. Yes, it does make sense, perfect sense in fact! That just means that I get to go even more away from the actually story line of FFX! I understand why you would be twitching the every time you have to write a part with him in because he is suck a freakin' weirdo and deserves to DIE! Good thing he will soon but then he is a bastard and comes back, what, three more times… damn. I can't wait for the end when I don't have to worry about him at all, or do I? Maybe an idea will come to me to make stuff more interesting for like a sequel or something. Anyway, I'll keep up the good work for you as well as the rest of my reviewers. Oh, btw, I'm sorry for not reading anymore of your fic past wherever I got to but I mean to sometime soon, that is when I'm not trying to work on this.

The scene of the Thunder Plains was that of a dreary, waterlogged extensive landscape with jagged rock towers jutting out the soaked earth. Lighting flashed across the sky in a manner that was most peculiar, as if the lighting was being drawn toward one of the many towers strewn across the saturated plains. Rain poured down from the dark, lighting streaked sky, beating down upon the group, as they looked the place over. Off in the distance, around a bend in the winding road placed in the center of the Thunder Plains, Lauren saw a little building like the one she saw on the Mi'ihen High Road and also outside the Djose temple. A lighting bolt streaked through the cloud filled sky and struck the ground only ten feet away from the group, causing Lauren to recoil in fear and Rikku to freak out in a low, shaky voice.

"Whoa! How are we supposed to cross this place?" Lauren queried, doubtfully, as another lightning blot struck the ground near the group; however, this time it was a mere three feet from where the blonde stood out in the front of the rest of the group. She leapt forward from her spot facing her friends out in front, almost running into Yuna but regaining her footing before she toppled into the brunette summoner. "I hate lightning!" She shouted as she stepped back away from Yuna to a comfortable position about three feet from the summoner.

"You two really gotta calm down, ya know?" Wakka said soothingly, noting Lauren and Rikku's fearful reactions to the lightning strikes near them.

"C'mon Lauren, Rikku, we got a job to do!" Tidus proclaimed while walking over to Lauren and placing a reassuring hand on her already soaked shoulder causing her to gaze into his azure eyes. "It's only lightning. There's nothing to be afraid of." He removed his firm, yet comforting hand from the blonde's waterlogged shoulder whilst turning away from her, looking out over the path laid out before them.

"See those lightning rod towers?" Yuna asked as she pointed a wet finger through the pouring rain and training it on the nearest of the pointed towers protruding from the marshy soil. "They attract the lightning so travelers don't have to worry about being struck by lightning as long as they stay close enough to them." The young summoner's words seemed to calm Lauren down slightly but it didn't seem to avail Rikku's feelings.

"I think I forgot something in Guadosalam." Rikku declared through her fear stricken voice and began to head back up the ramp into the Guado hometown.

"Wait, Rikku!" Lauren called to the adolescent Al Bhed as she walked up the ramp back into Guadosalam. Rikku turned around at her friend's call and waited patiently for her to make it up to where she was. "I'm convinced that it's safe. So why can't you be? After all, Yuna said that all we need to do is stick near the towers and no lightning will get us." The blonde Al Bhed glanced at Lauren, who had a friendly, trusting smile painted on her face to her cousin, Yuna, who also harbored the same manner of smile.

"Rikku want to protect Yuna. Rikku must conquer her fear in order to protect Yuna." Kimahri spoke for one of the first times since the road to the Moonflow where Biran and Yenke warned him, as well as the rest of the companions, about the summoners disappearing.

"Hey, Kimahri's right, Rikku!" Tidus chimed in from the side of the tall, blue furred Ronso guardian. "There are things that are going to scare you, but you can't let them get in the way of doing your duty, being Yuna's guardian." Rikku's face began to brighten up from that of which she bore a few seconds ago of paled fright.

"Okay, okay! I'll go!" Rikku blurted out, ready to just get on with their trek through this hated part of their journey rather than standing around and arguing some more with her friends. The young, blonde Al Bhed strode past her friends hastily causing them to swiftly latch onto her movements in order to keep up with her.

As the eight companions made their way through the Thunder Plains, hurrying from one lighting tower to the next, random fiends assailed them, making their excursion through the waterlogged, lightning filled plains longer than neither Rikku nor Lauren liked. The types of fiends that assaulted them ranged from those of metallic, yellow shapes spinning around a central point with lightning rushing around, to massive giants of iron armor with immense swords to match their colossal bodies. The iron giants gave even Auron difficulty as they tried to slay them to proceed with their journey across the Thunder Plains. Some of the iron giants would come in pairs, arising even more problems for the soaked group.

After about a half hour and many fiend battles later, the fatigued group reached the small bend leading up to where the Al Bhed shop/inn resided. Everyone except Auron and Kimahri felt fatigued and need a rest but the one eyed guardian kept insisting that they continue without hesitation. "C'mon Auron! We're all tired and soaked from this rain. Can't we at least spend some time here to recuperate?" Lauren complained as the older guardian continued on past the quaint Al Bhed shop/inn, completely ignoring the teen's words.

"I say we should rest." Yuna said in her polite and soft voice causing Auron to turn back toward her, giving her an odd glance. "Is that okay with you, Sir Auron?" Braska's former guardian strode up to the young summoner looked at her for a moment before responding to her inquiry.

"If you wish it." He replied even though he didn't really want to stop for anything at all. Yuna nodded as she went into a courteous bow and then watched the eldest guardian storm off, apparently annoyed, into the Al Bhed shop.

Everyone had their own room except for Auron, who stood out in the lobby up against the west wall, and Kimahri, who stood sentinel outside of Yuna's door. Lauren closed the old fashioned wooden door to her room behind her as she slipped into her own little room with a bed and a rather large armchair in the one corner. She slid her orange with black sleeve, waterlogged sweatshirt over her head and hung it up on the doorknob to dry a bit while she rested. After her sweatshirt was removed, she took off her sneakers and then her generic white socks and tossed them across the room. The blonde teen then went over to a closet on the opposite side of the room from her bed and turned the brass knob and then pulled on it to make the door open. Inside was an assortment of towels, which she took out a larger one and placed it over her head and began to dry out her long blonde locks. Once she had dried off her hair, Lauren plopped herself down on the comfortable bed that was on the north side of the room. As soon as she let her head hit the pillow her eyes felt heavy and closed automatically, forcing her into a sweet slumber.

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Lauren now stood in the center of a large, dome like room with stairs straight out in front of her leading up to an oval shaped, metallic door. The teen felt a strange force pull her closer and closer to the metallic door, but then all of a sudden stopped when a figure fazed into existence in front of her on the top of the flight of stairs. At first the figure was completely shrouded in shadow, but within a few seconds those shadows dispersed to reveal a girl about Lauren's age, maybe a year older. Her silky purple hair extended halfway down her back and a few locks bobbed in front of her deep emerald eyes. She was clad in a crimson colored breastplate trimmed with silver around each and every segment of the armor that scantily protected just her chest. A black miniskirt with slender golden stripes following a vertical pattern crept about three-fourths down her silky white thighs. Lashed to either side of her waist were dark brown sheaths, each bearing a single curve bladed dagger sporting a carved dragon hilt.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Lauren queried to the amethyst haired teen, noting her rather hostile look as she glared at the blonde guardian. The other girl did not respond to Lauren's inquiry at first as she made her way down the stairs in front of the blonde teen, her twin daggers bouncing at her sides.

"My name is Nora. I have come here on behalf of my master to test your strength, Lauren!" She declared as her hands shot to the dual dragon hilted daggers resting at her side and hastily unsheathed them. She twirled the curved daggers in between each and every one of her slender fingers, going into a battle ready stance.

"Wait! Your name is Nora?" The purple haired warrior nodded, and went out of her stance, gently twirling her daggers in between her fingers as she waited patently for Lauren to finish what she was getting to. "That name doesn't sound like it's from Spira. It sounds more like a name from Earth. Are you from Earth like me?" Something seemed to snap in Nora's mind as the blond guardian asked her the question and started to go berserk.

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Nora bent down as if she was going to charge in at Lauren like some sort of assassin striking its target rapidly. Nora charged at Lauren from her spot at the bottom of the flight of stairs that led up to the oval shaped door. Her legs moved so fast that Lauren's jaw hung open in wide surprise as the assassin like girl neared closer and closer to the blonde.

Lauren began to walk slowly back, franticly feeling for her katana's hilt to protect herself as Nora kept up her swift charge. She finally located the familiar cloth wrapped hilt and ripped it out of its black leather sheath just as Nora's daggers plunged down upon the teen. Lauren felt her katana being pushed down upon by the purple haired teen's twin daggers as they muscled for control over the blows. Lauren felt her feet lurch slowly backward on the slippery off white tiles that made up the floor as Nora began to gradually start walking toward her with baby steps. The blonde guardian tried to regain her footing to combat Nora's offensive strike, but it was to no avail. Instead of gripping her shoes to the tile floor they slipped even more sending her stumbling back as an arched dagger blade whizzed past her neck in an attempt to slit her throat.

'She faster and stronger than me just like Auron. How am I supposed to defeat her if she's that powerful!' Lauren thought as she attempted to slash Nora across the chest with her katana, but her attack was futile against the agile dagger wielder. Nora sprung into a back flip as Lauren once again tried to slash her with a downward diagonal slash going from right to left. Once her back flip was completed, the dagger wielder leapt into the air at the blonde teen, daggers out in front of her body. Lauren braced herself for a metal on metal collision, but instead Nor kicked out her right leg and smacked the teen right in her gut causing her to double over in pain as well as having the wind knocked out of her.

Nora landed a few feet in front of the pain filled Lauren and gawked at her with an incredibly astonished emerald eye. "Wow, you're pathetic!" The amethyst haired dagger brandisher mocked the blonde teen, which was down on her hands and knees gasping for air. "I can't believe he ever fell for a wretched girl like you!" With one foul swoop of her right leg, Nora knocked Lauren's arms out from under her, slamming her face into the chilled tile floor or the doom room.

Getting onto her knees shakily, Lauren opened her mouth leisurely and began to speak in a winded, feeble voice. "Wh… who is _he_?" Her mouth felt dry and it was hard to utter her short question as she breathed in deep for air and rubbed her sore forehead.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about!" Nora shouted at the still injured Lauren a few feet away from her on her knees. Lauren gave her a dumbfounded look as it finally dawned on her who _he_ had to be. "Yes, that's right." The purple haired teen confirmed Lauren's suspicion much to her dismay.

"How do you know Brian!" Lauren queried in a low trembling voice that sent an amused felling throughout Nora's entire being. She gazed down at the kneeling blonde teen and let a diminutive smile pass onto her lips before she spoke.

"That's right. He never told you anything about me. I'm his sister." Lauren gawked up at Nora as if she had just grown another head. "I moved to my aunt's house in southern California a few years before you met him because I just couldn't stand being around my parents. Even though I hated my parents I still love my brother and when I heard about you from him, I didn't like you from the beginning. And now that I have met you and seen how pathetic you really are, I have to say I hate you even more." The blonde guardian stared at Nora with her wide turquoise eyes.

"Why didn't he ever tell me anything about you?" Lauren seemed completely baffled as to why Brian would have never said anything about having a sister to her.

"He was probably too ashamed to tell you why I didn't live with him." Nora explained. "He always loved our parents and did everything he could to help them. You probably already knew that, didn't you?" Lauren nodded her head at the dagger wielding teen's assumption. "Another reason would have to be that I hated you, and still do. Now, I will end your pathetic life right here and now so you can't poison his mind anymore!" She all of a sudden had the bowed blade of one of her daggers pressing against Lauren's elegant neck causing her to go into extreme panic.

"Wait!" She gagged as she spoke, for the blade of the dagger was too close to her neck. "I have one more question, before you kill me." Nora eased up the pressure on her dagger but did not move it too far away as to give Lauren any chance of escape. "How did you get to Spira? Did you die also as he did, or did you get here by some other means?"

"You do not need to know that information, for you will be dead too soon to care. Now, die!" Nora shot her right arm up, brining her dagger's blade across Lauren's jugular vein, crimson blood splattering all over her, Lauren and the tiled floor. The blonde fell back onto her back, gagging on her own blood the entire time as she gasped for air as her lungs began to fill with her own blood. Nora stood up and backed away from Lauren's still twitching corpse as a chilling smile spread across her lips.



Lauren now stood in the same black void with the bluish white glistening fog that she had been in earlier on that day when she spoke to the fayth. Out of the endless shadows came forth the figure of the fayth that was responsible for brining her to Spira, a chill wind wafting over Lauren. "What am I doing here again?" Lauren inquired to the fayth as she had been brought here again after speaking with the fayth only a few hours ago.

"Think of this place as purgatory. A realm between the living and the dead. You were summoned here because Nora just killed you, just as you were brought her when that car hit you, starting up this whole journey you're on." The fayth responded.

"Well, can't you just send me back like you did when I first came here, without having brining me here?" Lauren was at a loss for why they fayth had wasted time brining her here if she was just going to send her back to Spira.

"I will send you back, but if I were to do it now she would just kill you again." The fayth answered, adding even more questions to the blonde's list when all of a sudden something dawned on her.

"Wait, how did I get killed in the first place?" She asked angrily. "I was dreaming, wasn't I? So how could I have been killed for real in my own dream?" The fayth looked at her and let out a slight sigh of annoyance before she continued on with her explanation.

"You aren't really dreaming. You were taken to a place far away by the powers of Nora's master, but it seems as though you are dreaming because it is so hard to grasp as to how or why that is happening." The fayth once again explained something that Lauren had no idea to what was going on at all.

"Okay, with that explained. What did you want with me that you had to bring me here for?" Lauren queried, trying to watch the fayth's facial expression, but it was all in vain because the shadows hid the fayth's face.

"I need to teach you how to unleash a portion of the power that is concealed inside you." The fayth elaborated. "You have already unleashed some of your power back on Kilika and on the Moonflow as I already have said. But since you have not yet gained anything from Auron, I need to intervene or else there is no way you can survive."

"Okay, so how do I go about using those powers?" Lauren queried yet another of her questions to the fayth.

"They are triggered by emotions. Love, hate, sorrow, joy, they are all a part of what activates your slumbering powers. The stronger the emotion the more powerful of an attack you will acquire. Back on Kilika you only had untapped a small portion of your powers and along with the hatred you harbored against the Sinspawn you were able to pull off such a feat." Lauren gaped at the fayth trying to take in all the information she was being given.

"Is one of the emotions stronger than the others, or do they all supply the same amount of power?" Lauren inquired after listening to all the fayth had to say.

"Yes, there is one that triumphs over all others. Hate is only the second most powerful emotion, yet it is one of the most common things you feel in the heat of battle." The fayth explained as Lauren tried to soak up all the information she had gathered so far into her brain. "Love is the first, for it is the only force strong enough to binds two hearts together for eternity. What you must do is not hate, but think of someone you love, take Brian for example. Think of him as he was when he was at your side, not after he was dead and you grieved but when you two were together." Lauren gazed at the shrouded fayth with a skeptic eye.

"So all I have to do is think back through my memories and find a time that I felt love toward someone and focus on it?" The fayth nodded as Lauren closed her eyes tightly trying to concentrate on her memories. She paged through her memories one by one until she came upon one that brought up a strange feeling of power. It was a memory of a night that she and Brian were out on her front porch, gazing up at the moon in each other's arms.

"Do you fell anything yet?" The fayth queried at Lauren as she continued to concentrate and center on that one specific memory before she answered.

"Yes."

"Good. Now keep focusing on that feeling as I summon up a fiend for you to test it out upon." As her words trailed off, the fayth made a few various movements with her hands and arms until a rigid shelled fiend fazed into view from out of thin air.

Lauren, focusing on that one memory, unsheathed her katana as the large lizard fiend charged at her. Her katana blade began to radiate a soft pallid glow as she stared down the fiend that was coming at her at its full speed. She poised her katana above her head in her right hand and waited for the thick hided fiend to come into range. The fiend was just about to sink its saliva-drenched teeth into the blonde teen's torso when all of a sudden it felt a searing pain strike it from above. Lauren pressed down upon her katana's hilt when she felt a little bit of resistance from the fiend's body, slicing the things head in half. The fiend fell limp on the ground; pyreflies leaking out of it's severed in half skull before it burst completely into a cloud of the multihued lights.

"Excellent!" The fayth proclaimed from her spot facing Lauren. "All you have to do is keep that memory tucked away somewhere in your brain that you will be able to access it under the most extreme conditions." The blonde gawked at her katana's blade for a moment as the pallid radiance subsided.

Sheathing her katana, Lauren asked the fayth a question. "If that's all you wanted to see me for then could you please send me back? I got someone that I need to take revenge on." She seemed confident with her newfound powers.

"One thing before I send you back." Lauren gaped at the fayth as if she had just slashed all of her hopes and dreams. "I can't bring you back to life anymore, except for you to go home that is if you make it." The blonde guardian's jaw dropped to the floor at the bad news.

"What! I thought you were like all powerful or something." Lauren was completely baffled as to why the fayth could have so limited powers.

"Technically I'm not even supposed to have brought you back this time. If I were to resurrect you again he would destroy me. I can't use too much of my power or else he will find me. I'm not supposed to be interfering with any of his plans but I had to bring you here to free this world of his tyrannical grip. Luckily that didn't draw too much attention to me." The fayth's voice seemed to grow lower and lower as she spoke causing Lauren to draw closer to her in order to hear her words.

"Who is this _he_ you keep talking about?" Lauren queried after the fayth was done with her explanation as to why she couldn't resurrect her if she died.

"He is the one who keeps control over this world. His teachings are known and followed thought all of Spira." The fayth explained about whom she was talking about. "He is also the one who controls Sin to keep everything to his specifications." Lauren's turquoise eyes widened at the fact that someone was controlling that horrible creature.

"What! Someone is controlling that monstrosity Sin!" Lauren yelled as much as asked. The fayth nodded but then quickly spoke before the blonde teen could get another word out.

"That is all I can tell you at this point." The fayth said hastily and without any room for Lauren to bring up yet another question, nor say anything at all. "I'll send you back, but keep in mind that I cannot resurrect you again if you die." The blonde girl attempted to say something but she was enveloped by a bright white light that blacked out all of her vision, making her feel a bit groggy as it continued to shine around her.



Nora was at the top of the stairs leading to the oval metallic door when all of a sudden she sensed a strange power from behind her. She whipped around to where Lauren had been slain only to see the blonde teen standing up on her two feet and her hand on her katana's hilt. "What the…?" The purple haired girl muttered. "I… I killed you!" She stammered, her amethyst eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.

"Look's like you didn't do a good enough job!" Lauren mocked Nora as she felt her neck, wiping off some of the crimson blood that remained there.

"No matter." Nora stated as she reached for her dual dragon hilted daggers resting at wither side of her waist. "I'll just have to kill you again and make sure you have no body to come back to!" She hollered as she leapt off the top stair at Lauren, her twin daggers unsheathed and ready to taste blood.

"Give me your best shot!" Lauren proclaimed right before Nora and her curved blade daggers pounced down upon her. She sidestepped the identical daggers and eluded a kick from the purple haired assassin by catching her foot in her right hand. Nora kicked off of Lauren's hand and did a three sixty in the air as she arched backward through the air. She attempted another strike on the blonde guardian but that also was thwarted by some evading and blocking that she had not used in their earlier confrontation.

'It's like she's a completely new fighter. I wonder if she could really do this earlier but didn't just to humor me.' Nora thought as she leapt over Lauren in a corkscrew manner only to be struck in the gut with the cloth-covered hilt of her katana. The emerald-eyed teen grasped her gut and bent over to catch her breath from Lauren's previous attack, but when she looked up for a split second she found the blonde's foot in her face. The blow sent her head into the air and her feet off the ground in suit whilst also sending her back a few feet. 'She must have just been toying with me earlier. She will pay for this humiliation!'

Nora just laid down on the chilly tile floor while Lauren looked over her in odd surprise. "Done already? From earlier I would have suspected that you would have lasted longer." The blonde continued to mock the assassin as she continued to lay upon the tiled ground, not moving.

"Heh! You're underestimating me as I did you earlier." Nora laughed as a faint smile crept onto her lips. "But your luck is up. Prepare to die!" She shot up onto her hands and launched herself back away from Lauren, her blades beginning to glow a faint blood red. Lauren watched, as the radiance surrounding each of Nora's dragon hilted daggers grew into a vivacious dark red. "Now you're going to witness my special technique. Blades of Doom!" There were two flashes simultaneously from either one of the identical daggers she wielded that caused Lauren to shield her turquoise eyes from the blinding crimson illuminations.

Nora pushed off the ground with her right foot sending her toward Lauren, her twin now glowing blades at her sides. The blonde teen watched as the assassin came closer and closer until suddenly she closed her eyes and went into a trance like state. Nora smiled to herself as she drew closer to the meditating teen, but right before she could unleash as hurricane of dagger strikes Lauren's turquoise eyes shot open. A strange deep purple mist appeared abruptly shrouding Lauren from Nora's view causing her to stop in mid air and land. The mist cleared to show no signs of the blonde teen that was standing there mere seconds ago. The purple haired teen walked curiously up to where Lauren had stood until she felt a cold sharp blade pressed against her jugular vein.

"What the…?" She was cut off as Lauren pressed the blade harder against Nora's throat causing her to gag just as she did toy Lauren. "How… did you… do that?" She managed to stutter through her gags.

"How about I answer you the same way you did to me. By slitting your throat!" Lauren was just about to slide her katana's blade along Nora's slender neck but stopped and just stood there just staring off into space.

"Going soft on me, eh?" Nora joked as she jabbed Lauren in the gut with her left elbow. "Never let your guard down in battle you foolish girl!" She spun around, her dual curve bladed daggers at neck height, attempting to decapitate the blonde.

The sound of metal on metal resonated throughout the small-enclosed dome chamber from the collision of Nora's blades against Lauren's katana. Her katana was begging to glow a deep purple like back in the water at the Moonflow when she severed the machina that Rikku was piloting in half. The amethyst haired teen gawked at the feeling of power that the blonde's blade was giving off. With one slow moving action, Lauren pushed aside both of Nora's daggers and away from their owner. She scrambled to recover them but the blonde guardian began to slash at her so she quickly changed course to elude the blows.

Lauren brought her katana in from Nora's left causing her to swiftly dive under the blow before it sliced her in half. Immediately after the teen's failed slash, she brought it back around along the ground before the purple haired girl had anytime to react. The blow struck her in the chest, but lucky for her, her breastplate somehow deflected the attack back at Lauren. Before her blade was too far away to strike quickly, the sixteen-year-old guardian shot her left arm to steady her right. The blade stopped in mid air allowing Nora to make a break for her daggers that were just a mere foot away from where she stood. She reached her dual dragon hilted daggers but just as the other teen charged up close to her and let her katana fly from left to right at Nora's stomach. The agile assassin preformed a series of back flips, evading the blonde's supercharged sword blade and also putting some distance between the two.

"It's back to an even playing field!" Nora shouted at Lauren mockingly while waving her daggers at the teen. She took one step forward and then all of a sudden froze up as a strong surge of pain flooded her body. Her emerald eyes glanced down her body to her stomach to see a cut extending across her entire front side, crimson blood dripping down into a minute puddle of blood at her feet. 'How… how the heck did she do that!' She thought as she slid her arm to cover the open wound in an attempt to constrict the blood flow.

Lauren charged in to finish off her opponent, trying to catch her off guard while she was inspecting the seriousness of her wound. Nora gazed up just in time to see the blonde guardian charging at her and began to perform a series of complex hand and arm motions. Within seconds a fiery orange glow began to form around the purple haired teen as she continued with her gestures. "I'd love to stick around and finish you off but I have more pressing business to attend to." A bright flash of the orange radiance shot out from Nora, blinding Lauren on the spot. When the blonde teen's vision cleared she could see nothing but the dome shaped room she had been fighting her assailant.

"Hey! Get back here!" Lauren's agitated voice echoed around the large empty room as the vibrant purple aura surrounding her katana diminished. For a few moments she stood staring around the empty room, katana still unsheathed and in hand. The blonde teen sheathed her katana and folded her legs Indian style and sat upon the chilly floor tiles, contemplating on how she was going to get out of here.

"The fayth said that this isn't a part of a dream but a real place. So how am I supposed to get out of here?" Lauren questioned herself out loud in a very soft voice that even she could barely hear herself speak. All of a sudden the teen felt her eyelids grow extremely heavy and she found herself beginning to yawn to boot. Sleep overtook her soon sending her into a calm slumber that which nothing could disturb her from.



'I can't believe she actually hit me!' Nora thought to herself as she winced in pain from wrapping a bandage over her wound. 'She couldn't do anything to me before I slit her throat, but when she came back it was as if she had gone through extensive training or something in those few moments.' Another wave of pain shot up from her abdomen as she bent over to grasp another bandage to be dressed to her wound. 'I'll get her for this!' As the teen vowed her revenge silently an odd, old voice drifted in from the shadows in the corner of the majestically furnished chamber.

"Nora." The old man's voice sent a slight shiver down her spine as she turned to face the shadows. "We have located the Al Bhed home city. We are sending in a battalion of Guado fiend summoners in there to destroy the city and I think it would be a good chance for you to prove to everyone just how skilled you are if you led the attack." Her emerald eyes shined with desire from behind a few amethyst locks of hair.

"The Al Bhed home city you say?" She felt a nod come out of the darkness to answer her obvious question. "Of course I'll lead the attack! It will give me a chance to exact revenge on them for tearing him away from me. Also, it will give me a chance to prove myself to the higher ups, besides you of course, so they will actually look at me as one of their own instead of an outcast." The old man shrouded in the shadows felt a great and powerful resolve burning from within the purple haired teen.

"There is one thing that worries me." Nora gazed into the shadows in the direction of the voice with a particularly perplexed look painted upon her face. "I sense that Lady Yuna's guardians will be there after we have started the attack. The Guados will not be able to fend them off if they survive what Maester Seymour has in store for them. This is also why I asked if you would lead the attack, for if it were just the Al Bhed I am pretty confident that we would crush them undoubtedly. But, Yuna's guardians have grown stronger than I had previously expected, especially Lauren." At the blonde's name something inside the teen snapped.

"Don't worry about any of them. I will take care of them all." Nora's emerald eyes shined brightly with a deep and passionate steadfastness festering within.

"The attack will be in two days. Take care of that wound of yours and be ready to lead the Guados into battle by then." A strange aura filled the room as the presence of the elderly man within that shadows disappeared leaving only Nora sitting alone in the elegant room.



"Lauren! Wake up! Everyone is waiting for you outside!" Rikku's upbeat voice snapped the teen out of her slumber, as did the Al Bhed's unrelenting knocks on the wooden door. She groggily opened up her turquoise eyes and gazed about the room as she sat up in the comfortable AL Bhed bed. She fixed her hair as well as she could before Rikku's constant knocking drove her mad.

"Hold on Rikku! I'm coming, just give me a minute!" She hollered through the wooden door to her blonde friend. The rapping on the door suddenly stopped and footsteps sounded away from it and down the hallway toward the entrance. A few moments later Lauren emerged from the Al Bhed inn into the presence of all of her friends that she had made since coming to Spira.

"You ready to leave, Lauren?" Yuna asked politely in her usual low voice as her friend walked up to her and the rest of their friends.

"Yeah, Yuna." Lauren stated as she finally reached a few feet away from the rest of her friends.

The group left the little side road where the Al Bhed inn rested as a blot of lightning streaked across the darkened sky, lighting up the entire plains. The rain had now stopped but the black clouds cast over the Thunder Plains never lifted to reveal the azure sky beyond. The ground was still marshy, but it had dried up a little since they were last out on it before they rested at the inn. The fiend count was lower than on the way in; however, there were still some that roamed the plains looking to prey upon something human. Off in the distance were still the lighting rod towers that protected travelers throughout their journeys across the treacherous Thunder Plains.

The fiends weren't much of a problem for most of the larger ones that had attacked them earlier were absent. There was one species of fiend however that still posed somewhat of a threat to the group because of its agility and devastating attacks. It was a little green cactus like creature with three black hairs poking out from atop its crown and had big black eyes and the same form of mouth. Rikku was the only one that could hit these fiends on a consistent basis and Lauren and Tidus could occasionally strike them. After a few attempts on its life, the cactar would either flee in terror or unleash an overwhelming barrage of thousands of tiny needles. These attacks were hard to evade, and when one of the party was struck by the wave of needles, Yuna would have to go on a major healing spree or Rikku would have to concoct some sort of healing potion.

After a few encounters with the cactus fiends, the group came upon a massive lighting rod tower that Yuna wanted to talk under. "I have something to tell you." Yuna said causing everyone to stop about thirty feet away from the sheltering lighting rod tower to their left.

"Here?" Lulu queried looking at Yuna oddly.

"We're almost out of here! Let's go!" Rikku chimed in trying to get out of the Thunder Plains as fast as possible because of her fear of lighting.

"I have to say it now!" The brunette summoner declared, going against everyone's will for they all wanted to just get out the dreary plains of thunder. Auron, seeing the lighting tower with a sheltering canopy, gestured toward it causing everyone to make their way over under its protection.

Lauren walked along as in a daze toward the lighting rod tower, an act of which caught Rikku's jade swirl eyes. "Lauren, you alright?" The peppy showed a hint of concern in her voice that was usually masked by her unsuppressed cheery attitude.

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking that's all." The blonde lied about being all right but she was thinking about what had happened while they were resting at the Al Bhed inn.

"Did you have a bad dream or something that you're thinking about?" Rikku inquired in a friendly curious voice whilst looking her friend over once more to see her reaction.

"You could say that." Lauren continued closer toward the lighting tower and the rest of her friends as Rikku stuck to her side.

"What was it about?" The inquisitive blonde Al Bhed girl asked while sticking close to Lauren's side as a series of lighting bolts flashed through the almost pitch black sky.

"I'd rather not talk about it now, Rikku." With that the Al Bhed detached from her side and went over to her cousin's as they caught up with their friends that were already under the protective canopy presented by the lighting tower.

"I've decided to marry." Yuna said so softly that everyone could barely hear her over the thunder that was constantly surrounding them like a bubble. All except for the two unemotional ones were in complete and utter shock at their friend's statement.

"Yuna, you don't have to do this, you know?" Lauren proclaimed, trying to sway her friend's decision. Everyone else shared the same kind of look that expressed just about exactly what Lauren has said.

"But why Yunie?" Rikku complained.

"For Spira's future...and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do." Yuna explained her reasoning for deciding to marry Maester Seymour. Everyone, even Auron felt as though that was not a good enough answer to why she would marry Seymour.

"Yuna that's not good enough." Lauren went on the defensive for her own friend since she wasn't thinking like the rest of them. "You shouldn't marry someone just for political reasons. You should marry someone because you love them and they love you back and no matter what you love each other. That's what marriage is for, Yuna. Not just to give people false hope for a little while at the expense of your happiness." The teen's turquoise eyes showed passion and were shaky as if trying to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry Lauren, but I must speak with Maester Seymour first. I truly am sorry, but this is... It is a personal matter." Yuna apologized to her friend and then declared what she had to do before she could answer any of the questions her friends were bombarding her with.

"You're kidding, ya?" Wakka queried, completely clueless as to why his friend that he thought of as a younger sister would want to marry Seymour even if he is a Maester of Yevon.

"As you wish." Auron stated, Yuna giving him an apologizing bow. "Just one thing." The young summoner rose from her bowed position and spoke.

"I won't quit my pilgrimage."

"Then it is… fine." Auron accepted Yuna's answer and turned from her only to get stopped by a very outraged Lauren.

"Auron, you've got to be kidding!" The blonde teen hollered at the one eyed guardian to which he had no reaction. "You don't think that there's anything wrong with Yuna marrying Seymour? But you yourself said that he was not to be trusted!" Everyone shot their glances from Lauren to the eldest guardian as swiftly as their necks would let them.

"Sir Auron, is that true?" Wakka queried, stepping closer to the guardian than he had been already. Auron said nothing, sealing the truth that the orange haired blitzer could only fear. "But why? Why would you say such a thing about a Maester, Sir Auron?" The master swordsman stood silent, obviously not wanting to explain himself.

"He said that because there is something just not right about that guy." Everybody's eyes shifted from the orange haired guardian and Auron to the figure of the young blonde Al Bhed.

"Not you too!" Wakka complained.

"Listen to her, Wakka. She is right." Lauren backed up Rikku against the unwavering faith of the Blitzer. "Every time I see him I get this strange feeling that he just doesn't belong in the position of Maester." The orange haired blitzer gave the sixteen-year-old guardian a look of astonishment and anger for her blasphemy.

"You three are almost as bad as the Al Bhed!" Wakka exclaimed showing his rage and disapproval of everything the three guardians had said. At the Al Bhed comment Rikku was just about to shout at the orange haired guardian for insulting her kin, but Lauren placed a restraining hand on the Al Bhed's left shoulder. "What are you thinking going around and talking like that! If anyone else was here you three would be thrown in jail for speaking down on a Maester!" Lulu placed her right hand on the blitzer's left shoulder causing him to stop scolding his friends to face her.

"Calm down Wakka. They have got nothing against the teachings of Yevon, just Maester Seymour." The blitzer's brown eyes shot wide in bewilderment after hearing the black mage's words protecting people who had just tarnished their religion.

"But he is a part of Yevon and therefore should be respected just as any other keeper of Yevon." Wakka tried to put up a defense for himself as well as Seymour by using Lulu's religion to sway her back to his side.

"I don't like it either, but they have a right to think what they want." Lulu said in an attempt to subside the orange haired blitzer's discontent with the whole situation.

"Kimahri not like Maester. Does not think Maester should be Maester." The blue furred Ronso's voice sounded deep drawing everyone's attention.

"Do all of you have something against Yevon or something now!" Wakka could still not believe what everyone had said to him so far.

"Wakka! We have nothing against Yevon, just Seymour." Tidus declared from his position standing near Yuna. "C'mon, I know you see it too. He is just not the kind of guy that you would have in his position." The blonde blitz ace tried to bring Wakka around to their side of the argument.

"I need some time to think this all through!" He shouted as he took off toward the massive forest that bordered the Thunder Plains as well as three other locations.

"Wakka, come back!" Rikku shouted as she began to follow the orange haired blitzer into the majestic Macalania forest.

"Let him be." Auron commanded of the blonde Al Bhed, who came to a sudden halt at the sword master's words. "He needs time to think, so we will give him his time. He has to figure things out on his own." Rikku came back to the group, her head hung in disappointment and a sort of anger toward Auron.

"Okay, so where to next?" Lauren inquired fro she had no idea where they were headed even though she could care less, she just wanted to get a conversation going to forget about Wakka, who had just stormed off.

"We're going to Macalania Temple. Yuna can talk with Seymour there." Auron answered the blonde's question in his usual, unemotional, monotone voice. "We guardians will wait until they're done, and plan out next move. Understood?" All of the guardians surround him nodded their acceptance except for Lauren who was deep in thought yet again as the rest of her friends began to stroll toward Macalania forest.

As soon as they entered the forest bordering the Macalania ice fields where the temple resided Lauren gawked at the sheer beauty of everything around her. "This place is beautiful." All the trees around her sparkled with some unknown materials as did the things jutting out of the ground that looked like stalagmites made of pure crystal. There were two roads laid out before the eight companions, one straight and leading off to the Calm Lands or Bevelle and the other, winding one leading toward the Macalania temple. There was no light shinning in from through the dense canopies above the blonde teen, but the forest was lit by some kind of supernatural force.

After Rikku had called out of Auron and Tidus who were stopped back at the entrance to the forest, the group proceeded up the slight elevation onto the road twisting through the forest to the borders of Macalania Lake. Once up the ramp, Lauren caught a glimpse of something yellow with tanned skin around the corner that could be none other than Wakka. "There you are Wakka." The blonde teen stated as her and the rest of the group finally caught up with the orange haired man. He said nothing but stood up and began to walk off ahead of everyone yet again.

"Wait up Wakka!" Rikku called to the guardian who was striding away from the Al Bhed as well as the rest of the group. She took off after him, leaving the rest of her friends to catch up with them as soon as they could.

Finally Lauren and the rest of the group caught up with Rikku and Wakka, who were staring in awe at a fiend assailing a man that looked familiar. The fiend had four heads, three where one should have gone and then the fourth head was attacked to the end of its snake scaled tail. The other three of its heads were all different; one was that of a bird like creature, the center one was that of a bull, and the third one on the right looked like the head of a cougar. Overall the beast was at least two times larger than the man who was fighting it and had purple, red and gray hair covering its body.

The chimera bent over allowing its snake tail to creep over its three heads and unleash a thunder spell from within the snake's jaws. The man leapt to the side to elude the lighting bolt, revealing his entire figure to the group.

"Hey, that's Barthello!" Lauren exclaimed to her seven friends behind her as she strode forward. "He looks like he needs help." She took off toward the guardian and the fiend, unsheathing her katana, as she got closer to the fray.

"But if that's Barthello, where's Dona?" Tidus queried right before he took off to aid Lauren in fighting off the chimera.

The chimera sideswiped Barthello with its massive, muscular left arm sending him soaring into a tree positioned on the left of the trail. After it had finished dealing the commanding blow to the guardian, the fiend whirled around to see Lauren and Tidus, both with sword in had, coming straight at it. It bent to the left, letting down its bird like head, which opened its beak and spewed out a mass of bubbles mixed in water at the blonde duo. The two guardians separated, Lauren going to the right, and Tidus to the left, evading the chimera's feeble attempt at striking them. The water and the bubbles soon dissipated leaving the fiend confused as to where its attackers where for they had disappeared out of its field of view during the attack.

Lauren snuck up behind the chimera slowly, trying not to startle it causing it to attack her on the spot. She raised her katana above her head and prepared for a sneaky blow when the fiend's snake like tail caught her out of the corner of its slit like eyes. It lung itself out at her, its jaws opening so wide that it could have swallowed the sixteen year old guardian without even chewing. It massive fangs dripped with what the teen could only fear was poison mixed in with its oozing saliva. She eluded the fiend's head as it made a pass at her stomach with its head cocked on the side as to take hold of her abs and gut her. The blonde teen brought her katana down in an attempt to decapitate the chimera's snakehead as it stopped to regain control overt itself. The snake tail recoiled as the blonde's katana blade dug into its scaly flesh; however, the blow did not cleave the head from the rest of the tail.

Tidus came in quietly from the side opposite from where Lauren was combating the chimera's tail. The fiend also caught his movements much as how its tail caught Lauren as she attempted to catch it off guard. Its right massive arm shot out and gripped the blitz ace with its muscular, clawed fist and squeezed tightly causing the blonde to cry out in pain as his internal organs as well as his bones were being crushed. He managed to muster enough of his strength through his scream of anguish to grip brotherhood's hilt firmly. He wiggled his right arm around to be able to swing his blade all the while the fiend was crushing him in its scaly, clawed paw. The blonde blitz ace finally loosened the grip on his right arm enough that he could attack the chimera. He stuck the hooked tip of his shimmering blade into the fiend's scaly right arm causing it to cry out in anguish with all three of its frontal heads and let its grip on him slip. The blonde dropped to the ground on his feet and took a second to recover as the fiend continued to howl in pain before he assumed a fighting position again.

Lauren was just about to get bitten by the chimera's snake like tail when out of nowhere a sphere of water appeared above it head. The orb of water smashed into the chimera's tail in an explosion of great magnitude fro it only being a ball of water. The blonde guardian looked over to find the source of the watera spell to see Lulu standing on the path about ten feet away, still in a spell casting position. Noticing the major effect the spell had on the snake tail, Lauren waved her thanks to the black mage before she got back in the battle.

Arriving on the scene, Wakka hurled his blitzball through the air toward the chimera's bull like head. The hollow ball did little more than whack the fiend's face dealing damage equal to that of an insect bite or a needle prick. The fiend turned its torso a bit to the right as if concentrating on its right hand as an orb of fire erupted to life in its palm. Within seconds the fiend brought back its right arm and then launched the flaming sphere at the orange haired blitzer. He barely eluded the chimera's fiery attack as it struck the ground to his left, leaving none but a smoldering crater in its stead.

Rikku got to the battle right after Wakka had just evaded the attack the chimera dealt him. The blades on her glove clicked into an attack position as she approached the fiend at her usual incredible speed. She charged in and dove in between the chimera's hoofed feet, catching the fiend off guard causing it to whirl around in sheer confusion. The blonde Al Bhed shot up into the air from her laying position on the ground into an uppercut formation attack that drug her fist blades up through the fiend's chest. It let out a shrill wail of anguish and the young Al Bhed pushed off of it with her right arm just below the bull like head. She came back in hastily for yet another strike on the large beast but was cast aside by its purple furred left arm as she neared it. The blow sent her flying through the air until her back slammed into the thick trunk of a rather tall tree right next to where Barthello had been cast before her.

Kimahri was next into the fray with his special attack where he bounced he lance off the ground, sending him soaring into the air at an opponent. The chimera's left purple and orange furred head gazed up and saw the mighty Ronso guardian plunging down from the sky at it. Upon impact, the Ronso's powerful spearhead dug into the chimaera's spine causing it to lurch forward from the momentum of the blow as well as from the pain associated with it. Kimahri pushed off of the convulsing fiend as Auron drove his massive blade through its skull, ending its life in a split second. The fiend's body dissolved into pyreflies within a matter of seconds after the sword master plunged his blade into the bull like head's skull.

Lauren went over to where Rikku was tossed by the chimera and helped the young Al Bhed to her feet. The rest of the group came in check up on the blonde. "Rikku are you alright?" Yuna inquired to her cousin.

"I'm fine." Rikku proclaimed, a huge smile beaming upon her face. "But I think that guy needs some help." She pointed over to where Barthello was scrambling around searching with his right hand over top of his eyes as if looking off into a distant horizon. He whipped around to notice Lauren and her friends and ran over to them with a worried look upon his face.

"Hey! You, have you seen Dona?" He queried in a frantic voice as he continued to glance around this way and that.

"Nope, sorry big guy." Lauren destroyed any hope that Barthello had of them knowing where she was located.

"What's up? You lose her or something?" Wakka asked the still very nervous Barthello.

"We got separated on the way here." The muscular guardian explained. "Damn it all! I've got to find her!" He exploded drawing Auron's full attention.

"Calm down."

"But, if anything happens to her..." Barthello looked uncertainly at the man he referred to as an idol and the reason he became a guardian.

"Running around in a panic is not going to help. Right now, you have to keep cool, and search." Barthello opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the elder guardian. "Guard your emotions, then guard your summoner." He told the guardian out of his many years of experience.

"You're right." Barthello exclaimed, finally realizing that Auron had it all figured out and told him true advice.

"Do you want us to help you look for her?" Yuna queried from in between Lauren and Tidus.

Barthello shook his head. "No, I've taken up enough of your time." He turned to leave but double backed and faced Auron. "Thank you, Sir Auron." With that final statement the muscular guardian took off in the direction that the group was heading. Rikku stepped a few paced forward, trying to catch Barthello's attention but he was already too far away to notice her.

"Something wrong Rikku?" Lauren noted the Al Bhed's advance toward where Barthello left and then when she came back to the group.

"Oh, I just wanted to wish him good luck." The young Al Bhed answered staring off to where the muscular guardian had gone and to where they were about to go.

"Well then, let's keep going." Lulu suggested causing everyone to move out along the long winding path cutting through the forest.

The rest of their journey through the ancient majestic forest was paved with few fiend battles and less to no talking among the members of the group. Around the next bend after their confrontation with the chimera, the eight companions saw a few creatures that looked like a mix between a human and a bird with a harp fashioned to their right wing and down their side. One of the half human half bird beings told the party about the different butterflies in the forest and how if they caught enough of them they would get a special prize. Before the group agreed to send their fastest member, Rikku, off to collect the butterflies, the ancient birdman told her to beware of the red ones, for they would bring in fiends. The adolescent Al Bhed tore off down the snaking pathway back in the direction she and her friends had just come, collecting the blue butterflies along her way. Within a few attempts on the prize and the resulting fiend battles, the blonde Al Bhed finally achieved victory and acquired the award for her trials.

Unfortunately for Rikku, the half human half bird entity had been a little misleading in relaying the value of the item to her and her friends correctly. It turns out the item was only a mere mega phoenix instead of an item of high value or a powerful weapon of sturdy piece of armor as the Al Bhed had hoped it would have been. As she came back to all her friends with a disappointed look upon her face she went over to the majestic creature that had bestowed the task upon her and gave it a piece of her mind. In the end it took Lauren and Yuna to pull the outraged young Al Bhed off of the creature and apologize for their friend's behavior towards it. They left the being alone to its own devices and traversed beyond the meandering pathway to a slightly curved road leading to the frozen lake just outside the Macalania temple.

"So Lulu…" Lauren drew the attention of the black mage as they got onto the straight away portion of their trek through the elegant woods of Macalania. "What do you think about Yuna getting married? It seems like everyone has voiced their opinion except for you." The blonde's inquiry caused the mage to stop dead in her tracks to respond.

"I can't say that I approve…" Lulu stated, drawing a bit of delight from deep within Lauren to the surface to see that the one that was usually against her opinions was actually with her. "But, she has to decide for herself what is right. She cannot have everything in her life played out by another person. She must be in control of her own life and make up her own decisions that affect her life." These declarations from the black mage slashed the blonde teen's hopes of her trying to stop their summoner friend from marrying Seymour.

"But don't you think that she's doing it for all the wrong reasons?" Lauren's question was drowned out by the sound of someone hacking up plants, apparently trying to make a path through them. "What is he doing!" She exclaimed as she noted who was chopping up the plants to the right of the path ahead of them. Auron strode into the opening he had crafted with his massive sword, everyone filing in close behind him.

"What are we doing here?" Lauren queried as they entered the secret path Auron had exposed with his blade. The trail led up to a miniature lake sparkling in the natural light resonating down from the variations of plant life growing around it. "That looks like just plain old water. What significance does it have, huh?"

"This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people's memories." Auron explained to the curious blonde teen as he strode toward the pond of sphere mold water. "It is around here somewhere." The master swordsman muttered to himself right before a massive sphere of water with a few fragments of what appeared to be stone in the center emerged from the pool of sphere material.

"What is that thing!" Lauren blurted out as the giant blob of jelly like substance loomed toward the group.

"Fiends are also attracted to these places." Auron stated bluntly as he shifted his blade's weight upon his shoulder as the spherimorph came in close to the one eyed guardian.

Kimahri was the opening attack upon the fiend with a lunge with all the power the Ronso guardian could muster within his muscular arms. His spear head merely passed right through the spherical fiend's membrane like body until it struck the rock like objects in the center which seemed to do little to no damage. The Ronso hastily wrenched his lance free from the gelatinous sphere's being and prepared for another go at the fiend. Before he could do anything, the spherimorph rose over him and formed into the shape of a gigantic block of concrete. The mighty Ronso guardian did all he could to evade the fiend's devastating attack; however, he was not swift enough to elude the attack before it came crashing down upon him.

Yuna called out in fear as her friend and guardian became crushed under the spherimorph's hard as steel physique. The fiend removed itself from on top of the wounded Kimahri, returning to its spherical shape from its block form. The young summoner hurried over to where the Ronso lay on the ground, unmoving and injured. She trained her staff head on her friend's wounded body and let fly with a cure spell that washed over the blue furred Ronso's body hurriedly. The Ronso guardian's yellow eyes shot wide open as he shot back to his feet, steadying his spear fro battle. Yuna smiled at Kimahri as he gazed off at the fiend now combating Lauren off in the distance near the water's edge.

Lauren brought here katana down upon the spherimorph's gelatinous body, sliding through it and out the other side with ease. She turned and plunged her blade into the fiend's body, slicing through the jelly like membrane easily. The fiend's physique shifted slowly, allowing the blonde teen's katana blade to slide all the way in to the rock like objects floating in the very center of the sphere. Upon contact, the fiend seemed to react as though it had been injured from the sixteen year old guardian's blow as she slid the blade back out of the gelatinous mess.

Seeing that no real harm was being inflicted on the spherimorph, Lauren yelled back to Lulu as she evaded an attack from the fiend. "Lulu! Use your black magic! Physical attacks aren't working!" The blonde guardian slipped under the gelatinous fiend as it attempted to perform the same attack on her as it did Kimahri.

Lulu conjured up an orb of red and orange flames in front of her right palm as she gripped her magic doll with her left firmly. In several seconds the black mage pushed her right hand forth, conveying the ball of fire magic hurtling toward the fiend. The spherimorph was concentrating on Lauren at the time that the black mage unleashed her fiery magic, catching it off guard as it rose from a dust cloud it had just created. The orb of red-orange flames collided with that of the fiend's body causing it to convulse slightly as the flames sizzled on its flesh. The magical attack seemed to have an increased affect on the fiend to that of the physical attacks everyone was trying out on it earlier.

The spherimorph convulsed some more after Lulu's attack had completely disappeared. The rock like objects floating in the center of the fiend switched up their places with one another, changing its elemental properties, much to the unawareness of the companions. "Lu hit it again!" Wakka called out to the black mage after seeing the results of her previous magical attack. Lulu obliged with the orange haired blitzer's command and cast another flaming ball of fire at the fiend. This time, however, her magic seemed to have no effect or possibly even have healed the damage from what she had inflicted previously.

"It is an elemental fiend." Auron stated as he watched the spherimorph quiver yet again, the rocks within changing their previous positions. "Every elemental attack triggers it to switch the element that it is. Figure out its pattern and destroy it!" He shouted to everyone out on the battlefield.

Lauren thought on what the eldest guardian had said about a pattern in its changing of the elements. "I got it!" She exclaimed. "Lulu hit it with a blizzard spell! It might change to the opposite of a spell it has been hit with!" The black mage conjured up a blast of ice and fired it at the fiend causing it to shake uncontrollably.

"Nice going Lauren!" Tidus hollered to his friend causing her to smile and blush a bit from his praise filled comment. "Look! It's changing again!" The blonde blitz ace pointed out as he noticed the rocks inside the spherimorph move around again.

"Maybe it has gone back to fire weakness, ya?" Wakka suggested causing Lulu to conjure up another fireball on her palm and then cast it into the spherimorph. This time, just as the second fire spell the black mage cast, had no effect upon the fiend, yet it did not appear to have healed its wounds either. This time it didn't change its elemental properties causing the group to contemplate on what element they should try next.

"Well, if it hasn't gone back to ice then what element is it now?" Lauren pondered aloud as she scratched her chin in contemplation.

"Let me try something." Wakka declared as he raised his blitzball and spun it around on his pointer finger. The blue and white bumpy surface of the blitzball suddenly burst into an electrical charge that ached its way all over the blitzer's weapon. He stopped the blitzball's revolutions and cupped it in his right hand and twisted his body in that direction, bringing his arm behind his back. When he untwisted his body he hurled the electric charged ball through the air toward the spherimorph. On contact the blitzball made the fiend shake violently as the electricity from the blitzer's attack pulsed through its entire being.

"Look, it didn't change its element again but this time it seemed to do a lot of damage!" Yuna exclaimed, pointing a slender finger toward the spherimorph and its unchanged elemental status.

"I can't do that move again, ya know? That takes a lot of energy and concentration to do, but at least we know its element now." Wakka admitted to his weariness from his own skill.

"Yuna! Summon your newest aeon. It's a thunder one, right?" The brunet summoner nodded at Lauren's query and in agreement with her statement. "Then summon it already. This thing is getting on my nerves." The blonde's words sent the young summoner into the motions for summoning Ixion.

A rift of lighting appeared behind Yuna and began to open up as thunder sounded in the dense forest. The rift began to open up wider and wider as a hook like yellow and black horn with a tassel like object hanging from where the horn bent near the aeon's head. A lighting blot reached from the end of the young summoner's staff to the tip of the horn of the lighting aeon. She coaxed the aeon to come out by gently tugging on its yellow and black horn by the lighting bolt. The aeon leapt froth from the rift causing it to shatter in a thunderous percussion that made Rikku cower in fear. The aeon looked like a unicorn with a stubby fluffed white haired tail and mane with zebra like striped running down its sides. It trotted around Yuna before it finally came to a halt at the honey brown haired summoner's side, ready for battle.

"Wow, that thing is amazing." Lauren breathed through her awe filled expression at the presence of the lighting aeon.

"Ixion, Thor's hammer!" Yuna shouted the command to her ever loyal aeon which obliged within seconds. Ixion bent its knees and aimed its single hooked horn down at the spherimorph, its eyes fixed upon the center of the fiend. Three blots of lighting shot out of the aeon's yellow and black horn, binding together as they zipped through the air toward the gelatinous fiend. As the lighting made contact with the spherimorph's body it began to lift it up into the air, electricity surging through its being the entire time. After a few moments of electrocution, a pulse of pure electric energy shot out of Ixion's lone horn, traveling up the line created by the lightning. As the surge of electricity reached the orb that contained the jelly like fiend it exploded sending bits and pieces of the spherimorph every which way in a gelatinous mess.

Out of the mess created by the exploding fiend came a blue sphere with a golden base that landed on the ground near Auron. The one eyed guardian reached down and acquired the sphere as everyone gathered around him to see what it was. "Whoa, this is old! Don't know if you can play it back" Wakka exclaimed as he examined the ten year old sphere.

"Jecht left it here ten years ago." Auron answered everyone's question on how it got here. "Play it back.' He ordered as he handed it over to Tidus, the blitz ace fumbling it around in his hands before finally flipping the only switch on the thing, making it activate.

After the sphere played out Tidus spoke solemnly. "He sounded almost serious, but it was too late." The blonde blitz ace seemed almost sad as he spoke unlike all the other times he spoke of his dad.

"He was serious." Auron said, breaking Tidus out of his train of thought. "Jecht had already accepted his fate." The sword master's words brought confusion to the blonde blitz ace's face.

"His fate?"

"Jecht... He... He was always talking about going home, to Zanarkand. That's why he took all those pictures-to show them to you when he returned." Tidus looked down at the ground not wanting anyone to see the look of confliction upon his face between hating and loving his father. "But as he journeyed with us and came to understand Spira, and Braska's resolve... It happened gradually, but Jecht changed. He decided he would join Braska in his fight against Sin." Auron finished off his length explanation of what he meant by Jecht accepting his fate.

"So then, he gave up going home?" Tidus queried in a soft voice that seemed like he was both angry and sad.

"That was his decision." Auron said sending the blitz ace into deep thought before he spoke again.

"All right! Let's go guys!" Tidus declared in a forced cheery voice. He walked out down the passageway Auron had cleared earlier, the rest of his friends following him slowly.

"I guess it's hard on him finally realizing that his father actually cared about him after all these years that he has hated him." Lauren said to Yuna as they followed after their blonde friend.

"I still don't get how he could hate his own father." The young summoner responded to Lauren's comment.

"Now he's all confused and I want to help him but I don't know how I could possibly be of any help." Lauren expressed how helpless she felt as her friend was suffering inner turmoil.

"I think that if he wants our help he will come to us and that we just have to believe in him until he falls back on us for comfort." Yuna articulated her feelings on the subject at hand.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Yuna. I guess there's no worrying about it now, or at least not until he's ready to talk about it." Lauren agreed with her friend as they continued along the path leading out to Lake Macalania and then to the temple where Seymour resided at the moment as well as many answers to questions both uttered and thought.


	9. Broken

Chapter Nine: Broken

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the longer than usual time in between updates but this chapter is drum rolls 33 pages long! It's like 11 pages over what I usually do so I think that's a reason to be a little late, but you tell me. Anyway, on to responding to your reviews!

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Yeah, well I have to put in some characters that nobody likes to appeal more to the reader's feelings, am I right? I'm glad to hear that you liked that part where Lauren talked to the fayth because that is pretty important to the story. Am also very glad that you love my fight scenes so much because that's the part of writing that I like a lot and in this chapter there is A LOT of fighting, like almost half of it is… almost. Hey, I like your fic and I'm going to read some more and thanks for not being the type that would try to force me to read it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this extremely long chapter as much as you have its predecessors, if not more.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Glad to hear that you still love my fic and that you think I have good writing skills. That is also a fact, more or less; cuz I got a 100 on my English final essay so I think that says something. Wow, those dogs' favorite food is carrots, that's something you don't hear every day. Oh, you like in Las Vegas I bet it is really hot there. Yeah, I'm not that good with spelling and all and it probably doesn't help that I don't reread my stuff cuz I just don't feel like it, but if you feel that I should, maybe I will start doing that. Anyway, here's the next chapter for you, hope you like it!

'Even if Brian was ashamed of his sister, why didn't he ever at least mention her to me?' Lauren thought, as she lagged behind the rest of her friends, exiting the Macalania forest. 'Why does she hate me so much? We never even met and I never even knew about her before yesterday. She must have her own reasons but that still doesn't explain why she wanted to kill me right on the spot and did.' The blonde teen's thoughts were broken by the sudden change in temperature as she casually strolled out of the warmer forest into a frozen wasteland.

A large frozen lake sat off to the blonde's left that expanded as far as she cared to see at the moment. Snow covered hills lined just about everywhere around her as she leisurely strode on a snowy path that led down to the icy lake. Along the trail sat yet another of the Al Bhed shops that she had become used to seeing ever since they stayed in that one on the Mi'ihen Highroad. The snow covered path winded down and around the iced up lake until finally spilling out onto the lake itself whilst leading to a completely new track. After the start of the new path on the other side of the lake sat a chasm with ledges on either side that led away from the lake and toward the Macalania temple.

'How did she get to Spira in the first place?' Lauren came to a sedated halt as she looked up through her thoughts to see Yuna and the rest of her friends conversing with Clasko. Immediately after she took in her surroundings once again, the blonde guardian's thoughts started back up. 'Who brought her here? It couldn't have been any of the fayth because they are on our side. So who could it have been then? Could it have been… Seymour?' The sixteen-year-old guardian shuddered at the thought of the Maester with the eerie aura coming off him.

Soon Yuna and the rest of the group that had been speaking with Clasko dissipated and the young summoner came up to her blonde friend that was deep in thought. "Lauren, are you alright?" The honey brown haired summoner's words tore the blonde teen out of her own thoughts and into the world around her.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking." Lauren admitted, her voice barely loud enough for Yuna to hear what she had said, her concentration still stuck in her thoughts. 'I can't tell Yuna about this just yet. She already has enough problems to worry about without me weighing her down with my own.'

"You seem upset." The brunette summoner noted as Lauren's weary turquoise eyes sat upon a troubled expression plastered on her face. "Do you want to talk about it?" Yuna placed a comforting hand upon the teen's right shoulder while gazing into her eyes.

"Not right now…" Lauren said, tearing her eyes away from that of Yuna's bi-colored, compassionate ones. "I just need to think things through on my own." She hung her head and began a sluggish retreat from her summoner friend, but was stopped by a restraining grip from Yuna's right hand still placed upon her slender shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Lauren gazed into Yuna's green and blue eyes but didn't respond to the young summoner's concern filled inquiry. "Last time we talked about a problem of yours you said you felt better afterwards, right?" The blonde teen nodded but still didn't say anything back to her brunette friend. "Then why don't you want to talk? I'm your friend and I want to help any way I can" The teen looked away from Yuna in sheer shame for letting down a friend that truly cared about her.

"I'm sorry, Yuna. I just don't think now is the best time to talk." Lauren told Yuna, hiding a lone tear streaking down her chilled left cheek for feeling bad about not telling the young summoner about her problem. 'Man, I feel really bad about this.' The blonde guardian thought as Yuna released her grip on the teen's shoulder, allowing her to continue on in her mundane ambling down past the little Al Bhed shop on her right.

'She looks like she's really hurting inside.' Yuna thought as she began to follow Lauren down the path toward where the rest of their friends awaited the two girls. 'She looked distressed before I talked with her but now… she seems even more depressed than before I spoke with her. I hope I didn't say anything that upset her.' The burnet summoner glanced up from the snowy trail as a figure appeared on the other side of the collection of her friends.

"Lady Yuna, we've been expecting you." Tromell greeted the young summoner with an impassive stare upon his face, his voice slow and polite. "We were surprised you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised, of course. Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice." The old Guado apologized for the Maester's abrupt leave from Guadosalam and with out saying as much as a good bye.

"It's quite all right." Yuna waved off the apology with her easy going, courteous side that she used often when speaking with people she didn't know really well. "I have one question if I may, sir." Braska's daughter waited for Tromell to give her a sign to continue which he did with a nod of his rough green haired head. "I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think that Maester Seymour would let me?" She queried as to what his reaction would be if she told him she wanted to continue on with her pilgrimage to defeat Sin.

"But of course, my lady. Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure." Tromell answered, much to the delight on the young summoner but not to anyone else for they didn't even want her to marry him. The elderly Guado extended his unusually large hand for the honey brown haired summoner to follow him to where Seymour resided currently.

"Goodbye." Yuna bid farewell to her friends as she stepped in beside Tromell and began to stroll off toward the other trail on the other side of the lake. As the two went out of everyone's field of view what appeared to be snowmobiles, to Lauren, cut across the ice, encircling the young summoner and the elderly Guado.

"Oh, no!" Rikku shouted as the Al Bheds on the snowmobile like machina continued to drive around Yuna and Tromell, fixing them in a certain position.

"Al Bhed!" Wakka hollered, anger clearly evident in his loud voice as the group headed off toward the encircled summoner and Guado.

"Yuna! We're coming!" Lauren cried out to her friend as her and the rest of the summoner's guardians picked up their pace to reach Yuna and Tromell before the Al Bheds could kidnap brunette summoner. 'Why do they keep trying to capture Yuna like this? I gotta ask Rikku again to see if she will tell me this time.' The blonde hurried as fast as her legs would carry her toward the snowmobiling Al Bhed and her friend.

As they reached the two captives and the Al Bhed snowmobiles Tromell thanked Auron as the legendary guardian fell in place in front of the helpless Guado. Rikku suddenly heard a familiar voice resonating off of the snow-covered hills around them. "Rikku! Tyh'd ehdanvana un oui kad dric! (Rikku! Don't interfere or you get this!)" An Al Bhed with a blonde mohawk came into view over a snowy hill sporting dark gray overalls. His chest was bare but held a strange tattoo that was spread out over his bare skin that the overall straps didn't cover.

Next to the strange looking Al Bhed a strange looking machina with a massive cannon fixed atop the body of the machine. It was conveyed by a few metal rollers that looked like the things they attach to the back of tractors. Two gatling guns rested on either side of the enormous cannon fashioned to the large main body of the machina. As it sat there the top part with the cannon attached moved up and down by hydraulics stationed in the back of the Al Bhed crawler. A diminutive smoke stack was fixed to the back of the machine, right as the cannon ended into the rest of the Al Bhed crawler.

"Oain bnaciuic magic and aeons yna caymat! (Your precious magic and aeons are sealed!)" The Al Bhed man shouted down at the group of companions as they stared at the machina he had beckoned for.

Rikku gazed up at the blonde mohawked Al Bhed and stared in horror at the last comment he made. "Oh, no!" The blonde haired Al Bhed's voice was filled with fear and uncertainty as she drew the attention of each of her friend's looks.

"Rikku, what did he just say that has you so upset?" Lauren queried to her wide-eyed friend while glancing back and forth between the adolescent Al Bhed and the huge machina sitting right next to the other Al Bhed, ready to pounce on them on his command.

"He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!" Rikku cried out, showing her panic heavily in her usually lighthearted voice. Just after the jade-eyed teen had told her friends what the other Al Bhed was planning on doing the strange man waved in his machina whilst shouting something in the Al Bhed language that could only have been taken as 'get them!' The machina squealed and wheeled as it made its way hastily down the hill that it had been perched on and down onto the frozen lake where Lauren and her friends awaited the battle.

Lauren charged in at the Al Bhed cannon that loomed ahead of her, ready to open up fire on the teen and her friends. A gatling gun mounted down on the right side of the machina, right under the main gun, began to revolve. The many bullets loaded up for the unloaded at the blonde guardian and followed her every move as she continued toward it. As the bullets zipped through the air they collided with the ice right behind the rocketing blonde, boring a massive trail into the ice following her. Finally the sixteen-year-old guardian made it out of the range of fire of the machina's gatling gun, giving her a chance to strike at the Al Bhed cannon from its unguarded rear.

As she plunged her katana into a panel on the back of the machina, Lauren pushed it with all her might until the metal finger guard connected with the metal surface of the cannon. A few sparks leaked out of the space between the katana's finger guard and the metal paneling of the machina. The blonde teen pressed doe on her katana's hilt with all the might she could muster at the moment. The blade sliced easily through the thin sheets of metal paneling that the Al Bhed cannon was composed entirely of. Severed multicolored wires along with dozens of sparks flying out of the immense gash the teen inflicted upon the Al Bhed crawler. She was forced to leap back from the damage she had done to the machina to avoid being either electrocuted by the dangling wires or burnt by the multitudes of sparks emitting from the gash.

Auron rushed toward the Al Bhed cannon right after Lauren removed her katana from the metal entity, his massive blade resting upon his right shoulder as he ran. Much to the sword master's dismay the machine counter charged him, saw blades mounted upon metal poles jutting up from the forms around the machina's wheels. The saw blades rotated at an abnormal speed, power by a complex hydraulics system, as their constant humming droned on and on. The one eyed guardian merely sidestepped the feeble charge from the machina, brining his colossal sword down upon the scrawny, hollow tube that harbored one set of the whining saw blades. The pipe simply slid off of the rest of the machine and plopped down upon the ice under foot, the saw blades coming to a sedated halt.

Kimahri pushed off of the plot of ice he had been stranding upon next to Yuna and rocked toward the Al Bhed machina. The mighty Ronso guardian came to a stop a few feet in front of the center of the machine and thrust his sturdy spear into the panels right below the massive cannon fashioned to the body of the crawler. Sparks began to launch out of the hole that the Ronso created when he punctured the machina as he began to spin the spear head attached to the shaft around within the innards of the Al Bhed cannon. As the blue furred guardian withdrew his lance from within the machina he gazed at it for a while with his unemotional yellow eyes and noted that neither his nor Lauren's attacks had any real affect on the machine's operation.

Rikku tore off toward the Al Bhed cannon from the right, trying to catch it off guard, but it was all in vein. The gatling gun posted on the right side of the machina picked up on the adolescent Al Bhed attempting to sneak up on it. The barrels of the chain gun began to whirl around, priming the weapon, faster and faster until finally it unleashed a hailstorm of bullets at the blonde. The Al Bhed thief hastily averted her course causing the gatling gun's ammo to unload onto the ice behind her instead of on her. Being the quicker one, the jade-eyed teen put much more distance between her and the rail of bullet holes in the ice than Lauren had. Finally she reached the machina and swiftly got behind the machine gun turret and did something that no one in the group could believe.

With a flick of her wrist, Rikku snapped off what appeared to be some sort of bolt, casting it aide as soon as the piece was separated from its keeper. Instantly the gatling fine tried to turn to face its obstructer as soon as the blot was removed but instead of swiveling to face the tricky Al Bhed it toppled from its mounted position upon the rest of the machina. The chain gun plummeted down the two feet it was above the ice and landed with a loud crack on the frozen lake. The pivoting point, still attached to the Al Bhed crawler, swiveled around helplessly and clicking sounds radiated from within the mechanism that the young Al Bhed knew as the system for firing the once attached gun.

Rikku, smiling at her own handiwork, gazed around at the percussion of astonished look from each and every one of her friends, especially Wakka. "Wow Rikku, how did you do that?" Lauren queried from her position behind the machina top her still smiling, jade-eyed friend.

"It's nothing really." Rikku admitted to her blonde friend, whose turquoise eyes were still filled with amazement and curiosity. "I've been around machina all my life so it just comes from years of experi…" The blonde Al Bhed clasped both of her hands over her mouth after she realized what she had just said and who was listening to her explain it, too.

Wakka looked at Rikku oddly at her reaction to what she had said but he didn't quite hear her so he was totally out of it. "What'd you say?" The orange haired blitzer inquired to the blonde Al Bhed who still had her delicate hands cupped over her mouth to prevent any word from escaping over her lips.

"She didn't say anything, Wakka." Lauren lied to the orange haired blitzer, keeping Rikku's lineage a secret from her Al Bhed hating friend. The tan skinned man didn't seem convinced; nevertheless, he didn't have any time for a rebuttal because Tidus tore off past him so fast that he was almost spun completely around by the blitz ace's speed.

Tidus charged up along the track of bullet holes in the ice that had followed after Lauren, but instead of going straight behind it he stopped at the side of the mechanical cannon. With one swift, almost halfhearted slash, the blonde blitz ace cleaved the remaining gatling gun off of its post on the left side of the AL Bhed crawler. The gun, lopped off from its master, fell to the thick ice below causing the blitz guardian to leap back to ensure that his right foot didn't get crushed under the heavy machinery. As the blitzer surveyed the now defenseless cannon, something small and metallic shot out of hidden compartment on the opposing side of the machina, just missing Rikku's head as it flew out. The object beeped and hovered around sporadically next to the Al Bhed cannon, scanning the battlefield as it did so.

"What is that!" Lauren shouted to Rikku, pointing a questioning finger in the general direction of the flying machina.

"It's a machina that produces a barrier that repels all magic!" Rikku hollered back to her blonde friend as the machina continued to scrutinize its environment.

"Can we hurt it with plain old physical attacks?" Lauren queried to the blonde Al Bhed who stood to her left. "If we can hit it that is." The sixteen-year-old guardian added with a sigh of annoyance as she charged over and attempted to slap it out of the sky with her katana.

"Yeah, we just need to find something really fast and agile…" Rikku trailed off as she gazed around at each and every one of her friends until she finally came upon Wakka and his blitzball. "Hey Wakka!" She hollered to the orange haired blitzer. "You think you can hit that thing?" The older guardian looked down at his blitzball and then gave a nod to the adolescent Al Bhed.

"Ya!" Wakka shouted as he hurled his hollow blitzball through the chilled air toward the buzzing and humming machina that had now poised itself to the left of the Al Bhed cannon. The blitzer's blitzball easily struck the annoying hovering machina, casting it to the ground as the thing's circuits shorted out. The once flying machina landed on the frozen lake with a slight thud and sent scorching sparks out every which way, creating scorch marks on some of the ice contiguous to it. "Lu! Hit it with one of your thunder spells!" The black mage nodded in recognition and prepared to launch a second level lighting spell at the Al Bhed crawler.

As she raised her right hand above her head and prepared to unleash a thundara spell upon the machina, Lulu griped the battered moogle doll in her left arm tightly. The black mage lowered her right arm unexpectedly casting a thunderbolt, larger than one that she had cast before, at the Al Bhed cannon. The thundara spell struck the machina with monster truck force sending scraps of metal flying in all direction like shrapnel from a fragmentation grenade. The machine convulsed from the direct hit of the lighting spell cast by the black mage, giving it a surge of power that it wasn't capable of handling. Gray colored smoke began to stream out of the point of collision as well as along the sides and out the back of the machina from various parts being fried by the extreme electrical strike.

After the smoke ceased to pour out of the spots that it had, the Al Bhed cannon began to charge something up, giving off a strange humming noise that caught Lauren's ear's attention. Shortly after it began to charge and give off the queer, the massive cannon fixed upon the rest of the colossal machina began to revolve just as the chain gun barrels did on the eve of firing. Sparks of electricity began to emit from the mortar upon the Al Bhed crawler as it began to revolve faster and faster with each passing second. Lauren stared at the machina, perplexingly, as it turned the end of the barrel toward Yuna and lowered it at the same time. The blonde teen stared in horror as her brunet friend didn't make any sort of movement to elude the massive gun from firing upon her with whatever it had been storing up.

"Yuna! Move!" Lauren commanded to her frozen in fear friend, making her way toward the paralyzed summoner as fast as her legs could carry her. Just as the blonde guardian reached the end of the immense barrel it opened fire upon her friend with the most terrifyingly destructive force she had seen aside from Sin's attack at operation Mi'ihen. The beam that flew forth from the depths of the machina was crimson and amethyst that sizzled through the air as it rocketed toward the frozen summoner. "Yuna!" The sixteen-year-old guardian pleaded again for he friend to move out of the way of the machine's destructive attack, but was to no avail.

Suddenly something deep inside Lauren snapped and she felt a wave of trepidation and sorrow pulse through her entire being. Out of nowhere the blonde felt her legs pick up an incredible speed and send her zooming along the top of the frozen lake like a missile zipping to its target. Within a second the teen matched speeds with the mana beam being expelled from the Al Bhed cannon and then pass it a second later. Still transfixed upon her imminent destruction, Yuna barely noticed a firm yet comforting arm wrap around her waist, moving her from her rigid position in the line of fire of the mana beam. The catastrophic crimson and amethyst beam struck the ice where the young summoner once stood, blasting a substantial crater into the now shattered ice.

Yuna still in her arms, Lauren came to a sliding halt about thirty feet from the crater shaped by the Al Bhed crawler's mana beam. The blonde teen let go of her summoner friend and as soon as she did the brunet finally came back into reality. "Yuna…" The teen breathed in order to get the dazed summoner's attention. "Are you alright?" Braska's daughter glanced at the sixteen year old guardian with unknowing bi-colored eyes until she gestured over to the rather large basin where her friend had once stood.

"Lauren, thank you." Yuna expressed her gratitude to her friend for saving her life while she was completely frozen with terror. Lauren smiled friendly at the young summoner, her turquoise eyes filled with relief that she actually managed to save the summoner's life from the machina.

Lauren was about to say something when the shouting of Wakka cut through the silence interrupted her words and drew her attention away from Yuna. "Lu! Do something while we still got the chance, ya?" The orange haired blitzer hollered at the black mage, who went right into a complex spell casting state.

Lulu let her moogle doll plummet to the icy surface below her and surprisingly it stood up on its own, free of her grasp. Even more surprisingly though was that it mimicked what the black mage did as it raised both its arms over its head to touch just as she did a second earlier. The scarlet-eyed woman dropped her arms down to their respective sides, bowing a little forward, the moogle doll imitating her every move. A rapid succession of eight thundara spells struck the Al Bhed machina, each sending up a could of smoke that made it impossible to see the damage that it was inflicting. Rikku cowered in fear as each and every of the lighting bolts struck the machine, her mind sifting through her memories until they exposed the memory of her brother hitting her with a thunder spell all those years ago.

Everyone stared at the cloud of smoke obscuring the Al Bhed crawler from view with eyes that were hungering for the ruined remains of the machina to appear before them. When the smoke finally cleared, everyone's jaws dropped down as far as they could possibly go except for Auron and Kimahri, who never articulated much of any emotions on their faces if any at all in their lives. Instead of the ruined debris of the Al Bhed crawler stood the fully functioning thing with the annoying little anti-magic barrier casting machina right above it.

"What the…!" Tidus exclaimed from his position next to Wakka as he stared in awe at the undamaged machina and its little counterpart. "How did it…?" The blonde blitz ace couldn't even finish his question before his astonishment stole all the words out of his mouth.

"Why didn't you tell us it had more than one of those things, ya?" Wakka pinned all the blame on Rikku for the shortcomings of Lulu's attempts in bringing down the otherwise undefeatable machina.

"Well… um… I didn't…" Rikku stammered through her shame and fear of what else the muscular blitzer had to scold her for. The orange haired blitzer's face went from that of astounded to that of anger at the lack of knowledge of his blonde friend.

Before Wakka could say anymore, Auron imposed with his own words. "That is in the past. Do not worry yourself over the past. Live for the present and move on with your life." The sword master's words seemed to only enrage the blitzer even more, but had a relieving affect on Rikku for she didn't have to suffer anymore of his questionings. As his words of knowledge flooded past his lips, the one eyed guardian pushed past the orange haired blitzer, heading toward the seemingly unarmed Al Bhed crawler.

As he ran past the left side of the Al Bhed cannon, Auron plunged his massive sword into the metal paneling that made up the outer shell of the machine. Still running, the one eyed guardian kept his blade level and deep inside the machina creating an immense gash in the machine's side stretching along the entire side of it. Free wires and sparks came out of the extensive wound the sword master had inflicted upon the machina causing it to have a fit of spasms filled with all sorts of random and odd noised resonating from within the depths of the Al Bhed crawler. The legendary guardian's blow that he dealt to the machina didn't seem to have much affect on it except for the initial convulsing and leaving a huge gap in the left side of its hull.

Noting the little, if any, damage that Auron inflicted, Lauren gripped the hilt of her katana tightly whilst striding forth from the back of the group. "I'll finish this." The blonde announced to her friends as she took off toward the seemingly unscathed machina.

Lauren ran along the ice to the right of the machina, the same way she had opened up the fray with. The teen then jumped up upon the massive cannon fashioned to the rest of the Al Bhed crawler and poised her sword for a stabbing attack. Abruptly, the enormous cannon shot back up to a position that didn't appear possible from a first glance at the rather large machine. It cast the blonde guardian off of it as it came a halt at an almost vertical ninety-degree angle with a loud clicking sound. The sixteen-year-old guardian landed with a soft thud upon the chilly ice and quickly shot back upon her feet from the cold assailing her and the fact that she was in a battle. She then continued on to poise her katana's blade up near a metal panel along the back of the machina a little to the right of where she had punctured the machine's hull and crafted the massive gash in it. Her blade was just a little more than six inches away from permeating the metallic plate when it opened up, revealing a small red cone tipped missile.

"Or not." Lulu stated after seeing Lauren's reaction as the missile flew out of its secret compartment and struck the blonde, carrying her up and over in front of the machina's cannon before losing its grip upon her stomach. The blonde guardian plunged down from the ten feet she was above the cannon and struck it with her abs, toppling off of it and landing a few feet in front of the machina.

As her body made contact with the ice, the sixteen-year-old guardian felt a sharp pain shoot up from her left leg as something cold, metal and sharp bore itself an inch into her calf. She let out a high-pitched cry of anguish as her leg shot up after contact with the metallic object, gripping her left calf tightly. Lauren glanced down at her injured leg with a hint of regret in her mind as she searched for that instrument that had stuck into her left leg. A small, metallic saw blade with a few of its teeth tarnished by crimson colored blood lay on the ice near the teen's leg. She winced in pain as she thought of that going into her calf and at the actual pain that it had inflicted upon her. 'It's all Auron's fault.' The blonde thought bitterly as she remembered the master swordsman severing the pole that harbored the saw blades for her to land on as darkness overtook her turquoise.

"Lauren!" Yuna and Rikku hollered whilst they tore off to the incapacitated teen with a small puddle of spreading crimson blood under her left leg. The adolescent Al Bhed reached the unconscious blonde guardian before her slower cousin and propped her head up, blonde locks falling down over her closed eyes. The brunette summoner finally made it to where the blonde Al Bhed sat with Lauren's head propped up against her right leg. She trained her staff down at the blonde's injured leg and shouted, "Cura!" letting fly with the healing magic, the white aura wafting gently down and around the injury.

Slowly Lauren's turquoise eyes fluttered open to meet the distressed looks of both Yuna and Rikku as they gazed down upon her. The cousins leaned back their heads to a regular position to allow the six teen year old guardian to sit up. "Lauren, are you alright?" The young summoner queried to her newly awoken blonde friend.

Lauren glanced down at her left leg and felt it with a tender hand, wincing in pain as she touched a still sore and cut up spot on her calf. "This still hurts a bit." The blonde teen admitted, putting a sad and helpless look on Yuna's face for she was ashamed of her inability to heal the wound with a single healing spell. "Yuna, it's okay. You tried your best and I'm grateful. It's not that bad anyway, I can survive." The sixteen-year-old guardian tried to comfort her distraught friend with lies that made the pain feel less than what it actually was.

"But I could have…" Yuna was cut off by the sound of multitudes of compartments open up behind her in the direction of the Al Bhed crawler. The young summoner whirled around to see that the machina had tons of secret doors just like the one that opened up on Lauren that they didn't know about.

All in one symphony of sounds the missiles launched out of all the undisclosed compartments encircling the entire Al Bhed machina. Everyone in the group scattered except for Lauren, who was still on the ground in pain from her run in with the saw blade that Auron had lopped off near the start of the battle. Tidus jolted from his position on the other side of the machina and headed for the blonde teen that was still abandoned in her injured position on the ice. The blonde blitz ace scooped up the sixteen-year-old guardian into his arms and tore off with a burst of increased speed just as a missile collided with the ice behind them. A rocket flared an orange and red explosion in front of the blitzer, almost causing him to loose his balance as well as the injured blonde in his arms. Scurrying around, dodging each and every one of the deafening explosions from the rockets, the blonde managed to deliver Lauren, as well as himself, to safety.

Lauren smiled at Tidus as he continued to hold her in his arms after evading all the machina's missiles, her turquoise eyes filled with gratitude and yet at the same time a hint of anguish for the blitz ace was cradling her on her injured leg. "Thanks Tidus, but do you think you could get off my wound." The blonde guardian's voice was lighthearted whilst holding back winces of pain as the blonde blitzer franticly relieved the pain he was causing the teen by placing her onto the ice below. The sixteen year old guardian laughed at how the blitz ace was reacting to her statement.

"I'm so sorry Lauren!" Tidus exclaimed as he frenziedly glanced around in all different directions and performing some body language that he wanted to use to say how sorry he was for hurting the blonde guardian while carrying her. "I didn't mean to pick you up by your wound, but…" The blonde blitz ace was silenced by the blonde girl's index finger pressed against his lips, a friendly smile plastered on her face.

"It's perfectly fine, Tidus. You saved my life." Lauren admitted to her friend causing his frantic and apologetic expressions to subside and give way to a weak smile. "Sure it stings a little but it's better than what could have happened to me." The blonde guardian glanced over at the devastation left in the ice all around them and let out a relieved yet pained sigh.

"If you two are done we have to defeat this thing, now." Lulu stated bluntly in her usual unemotional voice from a few feet away from the two blonde teens.

"I'll take it from here!" Rikku proclaimed, charging in at the now completely helpless Al Bhed crawler from the left side of the machina. Once she reached a small metallic panel on the left side of the Al Bhed cannon, the adolescent Al Bhed, with a few clicking sounds, snapped off the sheet of metal revealing a bunch of circuitry and gears. The blonde's jade swirl eyes darted from one part to another as she glanced around within the open panel trying to locate what she wanted as soon as possible. Her eyes finally locked upon a small, round disk with jagged edges that sat in the midst of all the other parts and wires in the machina. The blonde Al Bhed teen gripped the small, circular piece with her right hand and gave it a firm tug, attempting to rip it out in one clean move. Unfortunately, the part didn't come undone as easily as the blonde had hoped but she finally managed to wrench the component out of the machinery.

Instantly groans and creeks shout out of the open paneling, alerting Rikku that what she had set out to do was done and done correctly. The Al Bhed crawler began to convulse violently as random lose bolts and other assorted items plummeted off of the machina and down to strike the ice below. The blonde Al Bhed backed cautiously away from the Al Bhed cannon as it continued its berserk quivering and shedding of parts. Within a moment the machina finally ceased to make any movements at all and no more parts were streaming down from it, smoke rising out of tiny punctures created in the steel outer frame of the machine and where bolts and other varied components came lose from.

"My Lady." Tromell said, extending a friendly hand out toward the young summoner for her to follow him just as he did before. Yuna gazed back at her friends as they all waved to her except for Rikku, who was intently listening to what the Al Bhed man that had brought the crawler to fight with shouted down to her.

"Rikku! I femm damm Vydran! (Rikku! I will tell Father!)" The blonde mohawked Al Bhed shouted from his hilltop view as his machina finally broke down, letting him down once again.

"E ys dra guardian of Yuna, oui caa? Yuna ec cyva! Fa femm kiynt ran! Cra ec cyva! (I am the guardian of Yuna, you see? Yuna is safe! We will guard her! She is safe!)" Rikku hollered back to the aggravated Al Bhed standing upon the snow covered hill in her native tongue.

"Oui tu drec ymuha, cecdan! (You do this alone, sister!)" The blonde haired Al Bhed yelled back at Rikku before he turned his back on the adolescent Al Bhed and her friends.

"I told him I was a guardian." Rikku admitted to her friends as her older brother left them be on the frozen lake of Macalania. "Well, guess I had to, really." The blonde Al Bhed said in order to back up her statement to make it acceptable to her friends as well as her own doubtful mind.

"How come you speak Al Bhed?" Wakka queried in a somewhat angered voice as well as that of one filled with intense confusion over how his friend could know and speak the Al Bhed language when Yevon branded them traitors. "Why?" The orange haired blitzer reiterated because Rikku didn't answer his first question.

'I better think up something to keep Wakka from going completely insane when he finds out that Rikku's an Al Bhed.' Lauren thought as the big man stared down at the smaller blonde girl with deep brown eyes of inquiry.

"Because I'm Al Bhed. And that...was my brother." Rikku stated in so low of voice that at first Wakka had just thought her heard something funny and wanted her to clarify but then the truth hit him like an oncoming train.

The fact that Wakka was completely baffled by the discovery that Rikku was an Al Bhed did not play onto his other friends' faces as it did on his. "You knew?" The orange haired blitzer inquired to the entire group surrounding him and the adolescent Al Bhed. Everyone gave him a slight nod to let him know that they all knew all along that the blonde teen was an Al Bhed and for some time at that. "Why didn't you tell me?" The tan skinned man gazed around at all the faces of his friends as he asked the question.

"We didn't tell you because it doesn't matter if Rikku's an Al Bhed or not. She's just Rikku and you have had no problems with her at all for all this time and you were all for her joining up with us back at the Moonflow." Lauren defended her Al Bhed friend as best she could from the orange haired blitzer's hatred of her race.

"This is great. I can't believe I've been traveling with an Al Bhed! A heathen!" Wakka exclaimed as he shot his arms into the air in pure anger and annoyance at the fact that everyone knew except for him and never once told him anything.

"You're wrong!" Rikku declared, going up and standing on her tip toes to be able to look Wakka in the eye as she spoke. "We have nothing against Yevon." The young, blonde Al Bhed added to her statement to try to give her some more protection from the blitzer's wrath against the Al Bhed.

"But you Al Bhed use the forbidden machina! You know what that means?" Wakka paused a moment in between his declarations, giving Rikku a chance to answer but she didn't take up the opportunity for she had no idea what to say yet. "Sin was born because people used machina!" The orange haired blitzer thrust out an accusing finger trained directly on the blonde Al Bhed's forehead.

"How can you be sure of that, Wakka?" Lauren queried whilst walking up to stand next to Rikku to back her up. "Can you give me proof that the Al Bhed are the ones responsible for Sin being here in this day and age?" The orange haired blitzer contorted his face into a sort of thinking trance like state for a second after the blonde rose a question that he had to think on.

"It's in Yevon's teachings! Not that you'd know!" Wakka hollered at both Lauren and Rikku in a desperate attempt to get them off his back or to actually see things his way. However, the two blonde teens were not about to back down from their defenses positioned to guard the Al Bhed's way of life.

"That's not good enough!" Rikku shouted in her most angry voice any of them had heard her use since they had met her. "Yevon says this. Yevon says that. Can't you think for yourself?" The blonde's harsh question sent Wakka back onto the supper defensive position that he had been playing ever since Lauren stepped into he conversation with her true comments that he did not want to agree to.

"Well, then you tell me! Where did Sin come from, huh?" Wakka gazed down at the defeated adolescent Al Bhed, who was hiding her jade swirl eyes from him. "See! It was the Al Bhed!" The orange haired blitzer hollered sending Rikku into an even more depressed and defeated state for she could not come up with any good points to counter his.

"Maybe it wasn't the Al Bhed Wakka. Maybe Sin was born because everyone in Spira was acting up against the teachings, not just the Al Bhed." Lauren brought up yet another point that the orange haired blitzer had a hard time reacting to. "Wakka, maybe something has to change in order to get rid of Sin, like maybe doing something different from what all of you are doing now in an attempt to get rid of it." The blonde teen seemed to snap something deep inside the blitzer with her words of blasphemes.

"Nothing has to change!" Wakka shouted at the top of his lungs almost causing small avalanched on the snow covered hills surrounding the entire frozen lake.

"You want Sin to keep coming back?" Rikku queried, taking her chance to say something to Wakka as he was stunned from Lauren's comments. "There might be a way to stop it, you know!" The blonde Al Bhed suggested to the already outraged blitzer.

"Sin will be gone once we atone for our past mistakes!" Wakka shouted almost as loud as he did when he said nothing has to change. Lauren and Rikku seemed uncertain that the orange harried blitzer had any idea of what he was talking about or where he was going with what he was saying.

"And when will that be, Wakka?" Lauren queried to the distressed orange haired guardian, who stared at her like she had just asked a question like 'what is the meaning of life?' or something along those lines. "If all you had to do was atone for you sins then wouldn't that have already been accomplished since Sin has been around for a thousand years?" The blonde teen gazed over at the tanned skin man to gage his reaction to her questions upon questions that tested what exactly his faith was made of.

"We would have done that but the Al Bhed keep screwin' everything up by using the forbidden machina like what we just fought!" Wakka rebutted to the few questions Lauren brought up about atoning for their past sins.

"The Al Bhed are a small portion of the population of Spira. I can't see how it is possible that so few people could ruin everything for everybody." Lauren stated her opinion how she was extremely skeptic on to how the small population of Al Bhed in Spira could screw everything up and keep Sin alive. "Even if they do use the 'forbidden machina' what kind of god is that picky about who is following his teachings or not that he would make everyone suffer just because a small portion of the life on his world doesn't follow his teachings perfectly!" The six teen year old guardian was absolutely furious that her friends were following some sicko of a god that would kill thousands just because some didn't follow his teachings right.

Before Wakka could answer any of the questions Lauren had just barraged him with, Auron strode over to one of the overturned snowmobiles left by the retreating Al Bhed. "Rikku!" Catching the blonde Al Bhed's attention the sword master continued on to his question. "Will this move?" As the legendary swordsman inquired, the adolescent Al Bhed hoped onto one of the snowmobile like machina that was turned right side up. She fiddled with some cables and the ignition switch until finally the engine erupted to life casting out a puff a thick black smoke as it did.

"Guess so." Tidus said as he approached one of the other snowmobile like contraptions and proceeded to flip it over with all the strength he could muster.

Lauren went over to the machina that Rikku sat upon and joined her friend as the young Al Bhed powered the engine to life, propelling it forward with an awkward lurch. Kimahri flipped over another of the over turned snowmobiles and took off at a very high speed and rounded the corner, continuing out of view. Lulu hopped onto the back of Tidus' machina and signaled for the blond blitz ace to hit the gas and send them speeding towards the temple. Auron got onto one of the Al Bhed contraptions and signaled for Wakka to join him for there were no others left. Regretfully, the orange haired blitzer lumbered over to the machina and plopped down behind the legendary guardian just as he stomped on the gas, propelling them forward at speeds the blitzer had never traveled at before.

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"Can the girl be trusted?" A deep voice sounded from under a cloaked figure in the center of a very well furnished room. An old man appeared in front of the cloaked figure and cleared his throat before he spoke.

"No, of course not!" The old man's voice was rasp and a little winded for him to have not moved all but two feet. "She has already shown her weakness by letting that troublesome blonde called Lauren strike her." The aged man stepped closer to the cloaked figure standing in the heart of the room upon a very elaborate gold and crimson carpet.

"It seems that two of our buffers have failed to claim the life of that wretch." The hooded man's voice seemed enraged at the thought of so much failure from the help that he and elderly man had acquired.

"Indeed. The legendary guardian did not take kindly to your little bribe back on the road to the Moonflow and now Nora has failed in her assassination attempt on Lauren's life while in her dream." The old man put his right hand to his forehead and began to sway his head form side to side. "It's so hard to find good help these days." He let out a heavy sigh and removed his right hand from his forehead.

"Just goes to show you that if you want something done and done right you got to do it yourself." The elderly man nodded to the cloaked man's comment. "Only problem with that is I do not want to do it personally yet for the girl isn't strong enough yet to put up much of a fight and I enjoy difficult fights, not utter slaughters." The old man began to chuckle at the last comment the cloaked man had spoke. "What!"

"Oh, pardon me but I thought you enjoyed slaughtering people. Was it not you who just last year completely leveled a whole entire Al Bhed settlement, leaving none alive?" The cloaked man, without moving anymore muscles then in his right arm and had, gripped the sheath of a sword from with the depths of his royal blue cloak. The blade flashed across the old man's chest, slitting some of the elegant fabric robes that he wore. "My, my, aren't we a testy one." The old man joked as the clocked man rested his blade at his right side.

The blade of the sword was long and had a straight back side of the blade that the front rounded off near the top to connect with it. Along the entire length of the blade were two dragon skulls, one at either end, with spinal cords attached to each and zigzagging from side to side up the blade. The hilt was wrapped with black, silky cloth that bore two small skulls at either end of the hilt casting a ghastly image over all who witnessed it. Also attached to the hilt besides the two skulls was a band of sharp bones that went over the man's fingers right in between the first and second knuckle. "That was the old me." The cloaked man sighed and was just about to sheath his blade when the elderly man made a comment he didn't like to hear at all.

"Oh that's right, you 'reformed' yourself into an honorable man instead of a rampaging psycho with a thirst for blood and power beyond any normal man." In an instant the clocked man's dark metal sword was pressed up against the older man's jugular vein causing him to choke.

"The only reason you are still alive old man is because we are on the same side, working for the same goals and you have connections and I have the power." The cloaked man pushed the old man back away from him, almost sending him toppling over a lone chair in the room. "Don't forget that last part, old man. I have the _power_!" He sheathed his dark metal, skull blade and turned to take his leave from the elderly man's chamber.

"Oh, don't forget Sintanan. If you pull any kind of crazy stunts I can have you locked up in prison for a long time or even get you killed." The cloaked man turned around at the sound of the name that the Al Bhed had christened him after the incident at the settlement.

Crimson colored eyes flared up from with the depths of the shadows cast down upon the man's face by his royal blue hood. "Don't you _ever_ call me that again or I will kill you on the spot no matter what the consequences are for killing a Grand Maester such as yourself!" He turned back around and sent the massive oak double doors flying off their hinges with an unseen force. The two guards stationed outside the Maester's chamber were instantly decapitated by the cloaked man's, now dual, dragon skull swords.

"Hmph! He will do well in our plans." The old man said aloud to no one but himself. 'And what are those exactly Maester Mika?' A chilling, slithering voice came into the Grand Maester's mind. "That is none of your concern. Just do as we have planed at Macalania temple and don't screw up like one of our others in this little band we got here or else I will kill you myself and make sure your soul sufferers for eternity." The old man retorted to the creepy man's slithering voice.

'Is our special guest ready for you to send him here?' The voice queried to Mika. "Yes, I will have our guest sent to you very soon." The Grand Maester replied to the hissing voice inside his brain. 'Good. I can sense them coming already so please hurry up, Maester, if we are to succeed.'

"All will be done properly on my part. You must uphold your part if you wish to not suffer my wrath." Maester Mika told the voice in a sharp tone. 'All is falling into the palms of my hands.' Mika let out a devilish chuckle to himself while he stood alone in his chambers, two puddles of crimson blood growing with each passing second right outside of where the oak doors used to be.

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"Do you know what's wrong with Lauren today?" Tidus queried over the sound of the rushing wind back to Lulu as their snowmobile skidded over the ice toward the Macalania temple. The black mage gave the blonde blitz ace a very perplexed expression as he glanced back to see if she had heard him. "I mean, she just seemed out of it and when we first got here she seemed completely out of reality." The blitzer guardian clarified what he meant to the scarlet eyed mage after seeing her questioning expression.

"I don't know, but you are right about her seeming a bit off today." Lulu responded to Tidus' inquiry in a bit louder of a voice than she usually spoke in to be able to project her voice into the oncoming wind to reach the blitzer's ears. "She did seem as though she was lost in her own thoughts about something that was bothering her for some time now. I bet Yuna might know something. Those two seemed to have gotten close and somehow share a bond." The black mage explained her thoughts on why Lauren was acting a bit differently that she had been in the past today.

"Yeah, but there's a problem with asking Yuna about anything right now. She's not here." Tidus stated letting the chilled wind ruffle his blonde hair as the machina he and Lulu were on propelled itself toward their destination.

"Yes, there is that but we will be meeting up with her at the temple." Lulu said drawing a somewhat depressed look from the blonde blitz ace sitting in front of her, driving the machina snowmobile. "What is it now?" The black mage inquired, her garnet filled with wonder and at the same time annoyance at the blonde's reaction to her words.

"Lulu, do you actually think Yuna will marry Seymour?" Tidus raised a question that the black mage held no answer to but what she supposed as well as everyone.

"I am not entirely sure what her motives are but she seems determined to marry Maester Seymour if it will let people forget about all their problems, even if only for a little while." Lulu responded with her own observations that she had observed and drawn somewhat of the same conclusion everyone had. The blonde blitz ace's blue eyes were now filled with sorrow at the inevitability of what he as well as Lauren and Rikku feared. "That's the way she is. She is determined to do all she can just to help out the people of Spira at whatever the personal cost is. She is selfless." The black mage stated in the long silence that followed her previous remarks.

"I just don't get how she can be that way." Tidus' voice sounded frustrated and with a hint of sadness buried deep within the constructs of his voice. "How can she have no regard for her own well being? It just doesn't make any sense that she would want to put herself through so much torment just to please people she doesn't even know!" The blitz ace's voice was muffled, congested by the choking back of tears, his azure eyes wracked with depression.

"You don't understand because you do not see things the same way as Yuna." Lulu's comment seemed to offend Tidus but before he could say anything the mage spoke back up. "You do not know what it is like to have to live up to your father's name and to have people think highly of you than you really are just because of that. It is tough on her but she chose her own path through life and all we can do as her friends is help her through it with the utmost support and understanding." The blonde blitz ace shot his head around to give his retort to the black mage's words of wisdom but she shoved him back around to keep their snow speeder from going out of control.

"Don't say that I don't know what it's like to have to live up to a father's reputation and have people always thinking of you as something better than you really are and have to keep pushing yourself to not let them down because I know exactly how that feels!" Tidus hollered at Lulu but most of his elevated voice was drowned out by the whistling wind, only allowing the black mage to hear the tone of anger in his voice and not the volume of it.

"Your little blitz reputations may have mattered back in your Zanarkand, but they don't matter here at all!" Lulu snapped back at the unknowing blonde bringing up nothing but silence from his mouth. "Yuna has real problems, not your kind of superstar fantasies! Her father was one of the summoners who defeated Sin and for that when she became a summoner instantly everyone thought of her as someone great, just as her father was before her. But the difference between her and her father is that she lacks the experiences that he had and has only been a summoner for a little while whereas her father was a man of many years of experience and for that held power. She tries her best to live up to her father's reputation but she always belittles herself and tries to find ways to give her life meaning. By marrying Maester Seymour she thinks that she will make part of her life actually acknowledgeable for years to come to try to make it up to the standards everyone has set for her." Tidus sat silently in front of the black mage, navigating the snowmobile through the ice to their destination. "Maybe now you understand a little more." Her comment brought noting but silence up from the blonde blitzer sitting in front of her.

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'Where am I?' A young man around the age of sixteen wondered aloud groggily as he rose up from a chilled tile floor. His eyes still filled with haziness, the teen glanced around to see himself in a room filled with nothing but shadows and a large red metallic door resting in front of him. 'Last thing I remember was sitting around in one of those hanging cages and talking with that girl in the one next to mine when… that old guy came in and said something. But what was it? And now I'm here. What's going on?' he thought as the crimson colored door in front of him swooshed open, revealing nothing but even more shadows, yet he could make out a thin silhouette of something.

"Ah, I see you are awake now." The strange, shadow enshrouded figure greeted the teen with a slithering soft voice that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "Good. It is almost time for the suffering to begin." The figure stated, an eerie aura slowly becoming noticeable to the young man that felt as though the unknown man was enjoying the thoughts of someone else suffering.

"What are you talking about? Who is going to suffer and why?" The teen's voice was a bit on the shaky side as he questioned the shady figure about what his plans were. The unidentifiable man began to chuckle at the sound of insecurity in the teen's voice as well as the question in which it had voiced.

"I am talking about how someone is going to get their heart torn out and stomped on in grief, not literally speaking of course, but emotionally." The man could barely hold back his maniacal, chilling laughter as he explained exactly what he was speaking of.

"Why are you taking pleasure in the thoughts of someone else suffering?" The teen queried in complete and utter bafflement as the figure continued to laugh evilly. "What kind of man are you?" The young man's second inquiry brought them figure out of his state of laughter, but only to answer his question without any interruptions.

"Me? I am one that you do not want to cross or you will end up facing consequences heavier than death." The man's soft, slithering voice was stern and not filled with laughter unlike his preceding statements. "And to answer your first question, I guess killing your own father and being an outcast your entire life would make you not care for the wellbeing of anyone." The teen stared at the man with eyes full of horror and insecurity causing him to snicker in his slithery voice. "I like your reactions. Very terrified and pleasing."

"You are a monster!" The young man accused the figure causing an evilly chilling smile to rise upon his face, filled with suppressed laughter.

"That I may be, but keep in mind that I am also the one who holds your future in my own hands and I can make sure you have no future to head to whenever I deem it fit." The teen felt something tug at his heart and then pain, emotional and physical, surged through his body as a dark aura surrounded the outline of the figure standing in the doorway.

"Wha… what are you?" The young man managed to squeeze out through the intense pain he was feeling at the moment. The teen fell over onto his right side and curled his body up almost into a ball as he writhed in pain from the figure's unknown attack.

"I am the keeper of this temple and also your executioner if you try anything funny." The figure responded whilst releasing the teen from his deadly grip of pain. The young man gasped for air as the pain was removed from his body and mind simultaneously as the figure glared down upon him. "I will take my leave now." The figure turned from the doorway and began to stride away before turning back to face the teen once again. "Oh, I forgot to answer your question about who what going to suffer. It is a girl called Lauren who wishes to defy the teachings of Yevon."

Surprise washed over the young man as the figure said the name of the one who was going to be suffering in the near future. 'I know that name… but from where? Who is she?' The teen thought to himself before yet another question arose in his mind; however, he spoke this one instead of thinking it. "What is Yevon? Some sort of religion or code?"

The figure stood in the doorway, an eerie smile painted upon his face as he gazed at the teen and answered his question. "You will find out soon enough… that is if you can survive that long." The figure added on that grim remark before the crimson metallic door slid shut hastily, leaving the young man by himself in a damp pitch black room.



Finally, the group reached the Macalania temple after traveling down a long, curved snow covered trail suspended above a rather large void. The temple was constructed of light blue and white metallic materials with golden decorations strewn about the outer walls in a specific pattern. The front entrance was a pair of twin metallic double doors with a guard clad in crimson armor stationed just outside of those doors and to the left at the top of a flight of stairs. Out front of the temple sat a metallic landing where a few people congregated, going about their daily lives and talking with friends and family. At the edges of the portico like structure stood small walls of ice that took up almost all of the space on the perimeters except for where the lengthy bowed snow trail met it and in a few random spots where people could sit and stare out into the void that was all around them.

One by one the group stepped onto the chill metal flooring and began their ascent on the stairs, but was stopped by the crimson clothed guard as his eyes caught a glimpse of Rikku. "Halt!" The guard shouted in a deep, commanding voice while also putting up his right hand in the traditional gesture you would perform to get someone to halt. "The likes of her are not welcome in this hallowed place." He thrust out an accusing finger at the adolescent, blonde Al Bhed, Lauren's turquoise eyes filling once again with the anger she felt whenever someone said something about Rikku being an Al Bhed.

"She is a guardian." Auron said in an extremely confident voice, hiding his face behind the enormous collar that his crimson coat harbored and behind his heavily tinted sunglasses that he wore everywhere even though half the time there was no reason for them at all.

"An Al Bhed, a guardian? Preposterous!" The guard exclaimed, still in his deep and commanding voice to try to convey his point across to the group and get them to leave at once.

"Who cares if she is an Al Bhed!" Lauren hollered at the guard as she went up and stood on her tip toes to be able to see eye to eye with the gruff guard of the temple. "She is a good person and just wants to protect someone she cares about! What is wrong with that, hmm!" The guard appeared to be a bit more than a little intimidated by the blonde teen shouting in his face in an enraged voice.

"Yes, but the… the teachings and the rules of the temple do not allow such heretics to step foot inside a temple." The guard stammered in a shaky voice, his brown eyes fixed upon Lauren's unflinching, infuriated turquoise ones.

"Who cares about your stupid rules and codes that you follow!" Lauren shouted almost at the top of her lungs drawing looks of utter amazement from the few people that were meandering about outside of the temple entrance. "You can't just label a person not fit to do something that they believe in just because they do not follow your sets of rules and guidelines exactly how you want them to! All we want to do is protect Yuna along her pilgrimage and not be stopped by someone like you that feels that just because someone doesn't believe in your way of life shouldn't be able to care about and protect someone that does!" The six teen year old guardian ended her speech and gazed around at the attention that she had gathered from all of the other people around her, including her friends, and just smiled uneasily.

Now that she had backed down, the guard seemed to be outraged at Lauren's comments and looked as though he was about to call backup to remove her from the premises, but stopped for some reason unknown to anyone present at the time. "Very well." The guard managed to say while suppressing the anger that he was clearly feeling right at this very moment. "You may proceed." He slowly reached out his left hand over to the golden pole that allowed the door to be opened. Whilst pushing the door open slowly he also walked in to keep it from slamming shut as soon as he released his grip from it. The group walked through the now opened doors in silence as the small number of people stationed outside of the temple gazed at them in sheer wonder and confusion.

Once inside the temple, which was just like all the other temples Lauren had been in, Rikku turned to the blonde guardian and spoke, "Hey Lauren," The young Al Bhed said in a soft voice, getting the attention of the sixteen year old guardian. "Thanks for back there for standing up for me and all. You really didn't have to do that. I'm used to people looking down on me for being an Al Bhed, but I don't wish for a second to not be one." The Al Bhed's jade swirl eyes were filled with great sorrow and yet at the same time a strange pride for her race.

"And you shouldn't wish for it, Rikku." Lauren brought a new kind of happiness to the young Al Bhed's eyes with her statement. "You should be proud of what you are and not let anyone belittle you for being different from them. Those kind of people do that because they are uncertain of what they really want and believe in and envy your serenity within yourself." The blonde guardian said causing the adolescent Al Bhed's eyes to fill with happiness that she had a friend that was so passionate in defending her, yet a trace amount of sadness still lingered within her bright, jade eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but you are just one person that believes that and has no influence on what others think." Rikku hung her head in sorrow and walked slowly away from Lauren and toward nothing in particular. "So nothing is really going to change…" Depression was the only emotion that could be sensed in the blonde Al Bhed's voice as she continued to stroll away from her friend.

Rikku was stopped by a firm yet comforting hand upon her right shoulder and pivoted on her heels to see who it was that was restraining her from wallowing in her own disappointment. "Cheer up, Rikku. You have friend that care about you and will protect you from any prejudice that may come your way." Lauren bore a friendly, lighthearted smile upon her face as she spoke to her Al Bhed friend, trying to cheer her up out of her hopelessness.

"Yeah, but Wakka doesn't see things the way you do." Rikku stated while hiding her despair wracked jade swirl eyes from that of Lauren's turquoise, compassionate ones. "He doesn't even seem to be giving me a chance even though he had been a friend since we meet up until he found out I was what I am." The young Al Bhed's head still hung until her friend's gentile fingers brought her chin back up to look into her eyes.

"Don't worry about Wakka, Rikku. He will come around. Just give him time." Lauren removed her fingers from the adolescent Al Bhed's chin, a comforting smile plastered upon her face all the while. "He'll realize eventually what I already know, and that is that you are a good person and deserves to be treated as such, regardless of your lineage." The blonde teen's words instilled new hope in her friend's jade swirl eyes causing her to smile also.

"Thanks Lauren. You're a true friend." Rikku said in her usually upbeat voice, gratitude apparent in her eyes and a friendly, thanking smile on her face.

"Hey, no problem! That's what I'm here for, to make my friends feel as good as they can and give them my full support all the way!" Lauren proclaimed in an optimistic voice that resonated off the walls of the temple's main chamber for all to hear; however, no one paid it any attention except for Rikku, who blushed a bit at her friend's words.

"You don't know how much this means to me, Lauren." Rikku's words brought the blonde guardian out of her cheery expression and into one of confusion and yet still glad to see her friend happy. "Since I'm an Al Bhed I haven't really had many friends outside of the Al Bhed population and even in there I haven't had many because my dad's the leader and I guess they just felt uncertain to how he would react if they hung around me. Also, there isn't a lot of Al Bhed around my age anyway." The sixteen year old guardian gazed at her Al Bhed friend in wide eyed wonder as well as with pain to realize just how much she has suffered in her past years.

"Wow… your life must have been really tough." Lauren commented causing Rikku to once again hang her head in sorrow, making her have to come up with something to cheer the adolescent Al Bhed back up. "But hey, you got me now, and Yuna and everybody else. So don't be sad Rikku, kay?" The blonde Al Bhed lifted her head up to give a little nod and to show just how much the six teen year old guardian's friendship meant to her.

Rikku was just about to say something when a horrified shout erupted out from the room to the right of the main stairwell leading up to the cloister of trials. "Lord Jyscal! A sphere, in Lady Yuna's belongings..." A woman ran out of the room to the right of the cloister of trials, still shouting something about the late Guado Maester.

Lauren and Rikku hurried into the room right after all their other friends to find a sphere sitting upon a lavish table next to the rest of Yuna's belongings. "This may well answer a few questions." Auron stated before Tidus flipped the switch on the blue sphere with a golden, base that wrapped around the entire bottom of the orb.

Within the azure sphere stood an elderly Guado, even older than Tromell appeared, stood in a cloudy bluish green atmosphere. "What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a Maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this...I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son." Jyscal announced in a soft and low voice that seemed to be traditional to all the Guado, even Seymour.

"See Wakka? I wasn't just trying to bash your religion and Seymour." Lauren said out of complete surprise at what the late Guado Maester's sphere had just elaborated to everyone present in the small room. "See, he is a bad guy and we gotta stop him from doing anything to Yuna!" The blonde teen hurriedly ran out of the room and tore up the stairs toward the cloister of trails where they had found out Yuna and Seymour were.

"Wait Lauren!" Tidus and Rikku shouted at the same time whilst also charging after their blonde friend up the stairs toward the cloister of trials. Kimahri was the next one to follow after the blonde guardians, taking large strides that hastily carried him right behind his three friends.

Lauren passed through the metallic door at the top of the long flight of stairs leading into the cloister of trials right as Rikku and Tidus reached the bottom. The blonde teen rocketed through a hallway that was completely covered in sheets of ice and pure white snow. Jutting an inch up out of the snow on the floor came a square piece of dark colored stone that the teen didn't have anytime to waste on contemplating what they were for. "Lauren! Hold up!" Rikku shouted up to her friend as she entered the snow slathered corridor as the sixteen year old guardian passed through the next door leading into the waiting chamber outside the chamber of the fayth.

Within the waiting chamber stood the sadistic half Guado half human that was awaiting the arrival of Yuna after she had spoken with the fayth of the temple. "Seymour! Where is Yuna!" Lauren screamed at the Maester of Yevon causing him to pivot on his heel slowly and stare at the one who had shouted at him. "Tell me _now_!" The blonde guardian ordered the unflinching Maester who didn't respond for a few seconds.

"Please be silent." Seymour pleaded to Lauren to stop screaming at him as she continued to stand at the top of the flight of stairs at the entrance to the chamber. "Lady Yuna prays to the fayth." The half Guado explained his reasoning for his abrupt command at the blonde guardian.

"Make her!" Tidus hollered as he filed in behind Lauren, Rikku right behind him with the same facial expression of anger that both the blonde blitz ace and Lauren shared plastered upon the her face.

"Yeah!" Rikku added in her usual cheerful voice that now held an edge of anger and bitterness toward Seymour. "If you want her to be quiet you have to go through us!" The blonde Al Bhed whipped out her bladed gloves and fell into a battle ready position as did Tidus and Lauren next to her.

Before Seymour or anyone else for that matter could say anything more the small metallic door slid open revealing Yuna with a few beads of sweat on her brow. "Yuna!" Tidus hollered over to the young summoner as she looked out over the dome chamber to see the blitz ace, Lauren, and Rikku standing at the top of the stairs, their weapons drawn form their holsters and ready for anything that was to come.

"But why?" Yuna's facial expression was one of sheer astonishment as to why her friends had gone against her wishes to be alone with Seymour at the temple.

"We saw Jyscal's sphere!" Lauren exclaimed drawing a look of shock from Yuna and a sinister smile from the sadistic Seymour. "I can't believe that you would kill you own father! Why would you do that you sick freak!" The blonde's amazed words sent even more of a menacing smile creeping across the half Guado half human Maester's thin, grayed lips.

"What of it?" Seymour queried in an unusually calm voice that sent chills down Lauren's spine as well as everyone else's that was currently in the dome chamber. "Lady Yuna, certainly you knew of these things, did you not?" The brunet summoner nodded to the Maester's question drawing a quizzical look from him. "Well then, why have you come here?" The half breed Maester stared at the young summoner until she finally answered him a moment later.

"I came... I came to stop you!" Yuna declared in a trembling and stuttering voice as she began to walk over toward where her friends and guardians stood atop the flight of stairs. As the honey brown haired teen moved toward her friends they came down to meet her on the ground floor as the rest of them came into the room at that very moment.

"I see. You came to punish me, then." Seymour said whilst Yuna backed up behind all of her friends and they filled in in front of her, brandishing their weapons ready for the imminent fight. "What a pity. Ah, of course. "Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life." The Code of the Guardian. How admirable. Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them." The twisted Maester stated as he drew out his crimson headed staff and two Guado guards came to stand at his flanks and aid him in the upcoming battle.

"Maester Seymour." Yuna got the half breed's attention focused fully on herself instead of everyone at the same time. "I trust my guardians with my life. But they are also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt. I will fight you, too!" The young summoner proclaimed brandishing her staff in front of her chest, gripping it tightly around its blue shaft.

"You're going down, Seymour!" Lauren shouted with pure hatred apparent in her voice that no one in the group had ever heard the usually cheery teen utter. "You're going to pay for everything that you have done!" The blonde guardian charged at the vicious Maester at speeds that she had never gone before except for back on the frozen lake when she saved Yuna from the Al Bhed crawler's mana beam.

"So be it." Seymour said calmly as he and his Guado guards prepared for the initial strike from Lauren in all her furry.

Lauren rocketed toward Seymour, her katana dragging her right arm far back from the amount of air friction tugging at the blade from the teen's intense running speed. The twisted Maester stood unflinching with a sinister smile spread across his thin grayed lips staring at the blonde as she made her way closer and closer to him with each passing second. Soon the blonde guardian was upon the half breed Maester and brought her right arm with the katana in her grasp in front of her body and then over to her left side, slipping the katana blade into its sheath hastily. The sadistic half Guado half human still didn't make any actions to guard himself against the blonde teen's upcoming attach as she drew a few feet away from him. The sixteen year old guardian flung her right arm out suddenly with implausible speed, brining her katana out of its black leather sheath to move with her arm.

As if on cue, a circular blue aura shot up in front of Seymour as the Guado guard to the Maester's right preformed various gestures with his hands and arms. Lauren's katana struck the spherical azure glow in front of the sadistic Maester with enough force to cut clear through just about any substance that stood in its way. A loud thud resonated off of the blue colored barrier sending the blonde and her katana back through the air a few feet, landing on her back. The blonde teen shot back onto her feet, gripping her katana tightly around the cloth covered hilt in her right hand, and stared at the half breed in confusion. The Maester smirked at the perplexed expression painted upon the teen's face and explained what had just happened since it appeared she had no idea. "How do you like my barrier? It protects me from all physical attacks that you could assail me with!" The twisted man laughed manically at the expression of utter astonishment and wonder the young woman gave him.

"Kimahri handle this!" The mighty Ronso guardian rushed past Lauren, his lance poised out in front of him in a manner that would skewer anything or anyone in its path. His spear head slammed into the blue barrier that surrounded Seymour with a loud crack that everyone could only assume was the spear shaft snapping in half. The blue furred guardian glanced down at his lance and was dismayed to see that the shaft had indeed been snapped in half by the collision between it and the Maester's physical attack barrier. The half Guado laughed at the Ronso as did the Guado guardians on either of his flanks as the guardian tossed aside his now broken spear. Instead of giving up, the powerful Ronso guardian lashed out with powerful swipes from his massive, clawed paws. He swiped his commanding paws at the sadistic half breed, but just as his lance they, too, were merely parried away by the impermeable defense the Maester was surrounded in.

"Hey Lulu!" Lauren got the attention of her black mage friend with her random holler as she ran up toward the crimson eyed guardian. "Sine he's immune to physical attacks hit him with some of your magic!" The older guardian nodded whilst raising her right hand up preparing to launch a thundara spell straight for the sadistic Seymour's heart. The garnet eyed mage abruptly pulled her hand down and to her right side unleashing a second level lighting spell upon the half Guado. The half breed flinched in minor pain as the thundara spell sizzled off of his flesh, leaving a smoldering patch on his skin on his chest. Right away the Guado guard on the Maester's left turned to face his master and tossed up some sort of clear blue vial that exploded above the injured Maester's head. Out of the vial came a light blue aura that showered down upon the twisted half Guado half human, healing his wounds on contact.

Auron strode forth, brandishing his massive sword upon his right shoulder, staring down the Guado guard to the right of Seymour with a death gaze. The legendary sword master charged at the Guado guard on the right and brought down his colossal blade down upon its head. The Guado attempted to but up a barrier around itself just as it did to its master but it was too late, the assailing guardian's sword had already begun to sink into his flesh. The guard began to writhe in pain but was stopped abruptly when the swordsman followed through with the initial hit by bringing his blade down through the flesh of the Guado, severing him in half. As the two halves of his guard fell to the ground with a softened thud, Seymour casually glanced over at the one eyed guardian with no expression apparent on his face what so ever.

Rikku propelled her self toward the Guado guardian on the opposite side of where Auron had cleaved the other one in half as fast as her agile legs would carry her. The blonde Al Bhed rounded closely to the Guado guardian once and then again, but did nothing, much to the surprise of the guard and Yuna, who was watching her cousin with intense eyes. On her third time, however, the adolescent Al Bhed did do something that neither the guard nor young summoner could have guessed she was going to do. Her jade swirl eyes were wide with mischief as she preformed a flick of her wrist at the guard's belt that was lashed about his waist that almost neither of the onlookers could see. Then, as if nothing had happened, the blonde trotted away from the perplexed Guado guardian who then reached for his belt for some unknown reason. The cheerful Al Bhed turned around to note the expression of awe that was clearly plastered upon the guard's face as he franticly felt for something on his belt.

"Looking for this?" Rikku said playfully while turning completely around on her heels, brandishing a small brown leather pouch with a gold buckle fashioned to the front to keep the container sealed. With a slight flip of her right index finger, the adolescent Al Bhed flicked the buckle up revealing its contents. Sitting in the tiny brown leather pouch sat a bunch of tiny lucid blue vials that stored the healing elixir that the Guado had used on Seymour after he got struck by Lulu's thundara spell. Upon seeing his wide eyed and angered expression, the blonde Al Bhed turned back around, slipping the diminutive leather pouch containing the healing elixirs into a much larger one lashed to her waist. Then she began to continue her trot back toward Yuna and the rest of her friends that weren't up near the sadistic Maester.

"You little…" The Guado guard muttered at Rikku when she was about halfway between him and the Al Bhed's friend. "You will pay!" The guard raised his right arm up but kept his elbow bent a bit while placing his left hand on the bottom his wrist as a sort of stabilizer for his next move. Ice crystals began to whirl around the Guado's outstretched right hand and began to materialize into one solid ice sickle hovering an inch from his gloved Guado palm. With a sudden push of his right arm he sent the unusually large ice sickle hurtling through the air toward the blonde Al Bhed teen, the air that it passed through became chilled on contact. The adolescent Al Bhed turned back around to face the guard after he vowed revenge on her for pilfering his potions just in time to see the ice sickle only a few feet away from her chest.

Rikku attempted to evade the hurtling ice sickle by sidestepping it to the right but it was too late for her. The chilled ice sickle smashed into her left shoulder with enough force that tossed her back through the air about five feet while it dug into her flesh. The blonde teen let out a cry of sheer anguish that pierced everyone's ears causing them to cover them in order to not suffer ear damage from their friend's screams. Seymour on the other hand, just stood there watching with an almost admiring expression painted upon his face at the suffering of the jade eyed guardian. A cold spot, solder than anything that she had ever felt before, began to spread throughout her entire being as the ice sickle almost passed completely through her left shoulder. Her eyelids became heavy and soon slid shut unwillingly, passing the blonde Al Bhed into an icy unconsciousness.

"Rikku!" Yuna hollered to her now unconscious cousin, who lay on the chill tile floor of the temple's dome shaped room with an ice sickle through her left shoulder. The honey brown haired summoner tore off from her spot next to Tidus to go aid her cousin with her healing magic. "Hold on, Rikku." The young summoner breathed as she got to the unconscious Al Bhed's side and trained her staff at the ice sickle wound in her left shoulder. "Cura!" Upon request by the summoner's words the white colored healing aura emitted from the tip of her multicolor headed staff, immersing the injured blonde in the strange yet pleasant feelings of the healing magic. The ice sickle melted away within an instant from which the healing spell wrapped itself around the incapacitated Al Bhed teen. The hole in the jade swirl eyed Al Bhed's left shoulder slowly began to fill in with fresh skin and bone making her shoulder as good as new.

Rikku's jade swirl eyes leisurely fluttered open to see Yuna standing over her with a very concerned look upon her already troubled face. "Rikku, are you alright?" The young summoner's voice was shaky and juts barely loud enough for the blonde Al Bhed to make out what she had said. Without saying a word, the adolescent Al Bhed smiled up at her compassionate cousin whilst came up into an upright sitting position. With tears of happiness in her bi-colored eyes, the brunet summoner whipped her arms around her now uninjured cousin, resting her chin on the blonde's right shoulder. The blonde Al Bhed returned the embrace that her cousin wrapped her in and patted her on the back with a tender hand.

Tidus came up next to the two embracing cousins and placed a brief comforting hand on each of their shoulders before heading back off toward the Guado guardian standing fifteen feet from him. As the blonde blitz ace approached, the Guado attempted to squeeze in the casting of a barrier spell for himself to protect him from the teen's wrath but was too late in his efforts. The blonde blitzer came to a halt in his swift charge just a few feet in front of the Guado guardian, brining up Brotherhood back behind his head as he did so. He unleashed his attack with one fluid motion that brought his blade down on a downward diagonal slash from right to left. The blitzer's blade left a deep gash extending down from the Guado guard's left shoulder, trailing down across his chest and off his torso. The Guado fell back from the blitz ace's strike backed up by all his moment he had been storing up since he began his charge at the guard.

"Let's see how well you do on your own without those cheap guards!" Lauren shouted at Seymour as he stood all by his lonesome in the wake of his two Guado guards, an evil smile still plastered upon his twisted face. "Yuna!" The blonde guardian's words got hold of the attention of the young summoner causing her to turn toward her friend wondering what she wanted to say. "You have some kind of spell that can get rid of his barrier, right?" The honey brown haired summoner nodded before she turned to face the sadistic Maester, gripping her staff tightly in both her hands. With a flick of her staff, the young summoner sent a wave of off colored magic to engulf the half Guado half human Maester. The blue colored barrier around the twisted man quickly dispelled in a show of a few pale lights, leaving him open to any attacks that Lauren or her friends would throw at him.

Kimahri, still standing only a few feet from the sadistic Seymour, lashed out at the Maester with a massive punch that contained the force of an oncoming train. The blue furred guardian's forceful blow struck the blue light barrier surrounding the half breed sending a loud crack resonating off the bowed walls and domed ceiling. The twisted Master glanced down at his stomach where the mighty Ronso guardian had struck his shield to see that the barrier was cracking under the pressure of the Ronso's commanding strike. With an outburst of strength, the Ronso pushed his already powerful blow with extra force that didn't seem possible at all to anyone. The additional power pressed into the blow sent his blue fur, clawed fist straight through the screen in front of the Maester with a splintering crack. The Ronso's fist smashed into the twisted half breed's stomach sending him sailing through the air back about twenty feet and onto the flight of stairs leading up to the chamber of the fayth.

Recomposing himself, Seymour stood up and unhurriedly strode down the stairs and stood tranquilly at the base of the stairs. "What a feeble attempt on my life." The warped Maester's voice was as low and as chilling as ever, raising the hairs on the back of everyone's necks including Auron's and Kimahri's. "You will pay for inferiority with your life." As those chilling words left his mouth, the half human half Guado raised his crimson headed staff in front of his body in his unusually large hands. Around the crimson decoration attached to the end of the Maester's staff whirled remnants of a fiery orange aura that hastily began to materialize into more than just an aura. Within the next few seconds a grand orb of red and orange flame appeared hovering a few inches in front of the half Guado's staff. With a sudden push of the sadistic Maester's right arm the sphere of red-orange flame was sent hurtling toward the Ronso guardian.

The brilliant red-orange fireball whizzed through the air toward the Mighty Ronso guardian, superheating the air around it into a dizzy haze. As the sphere of flame neared the blue furred guardian something that no one could make out zipped through the air over the Ronso's head, striking the fireball. A loud sizzling noise sounded throughout the dome chamber as the two orbs muscled for their right to continue on their path. Clouds of steam made their way up into the top of the dome chamber as a high pitched squealing sound echoed off the arched walls of the chamber. At the sound of loud searing the second sphere broke through the Maester's fireball in a massive puff of smoke. The mysterious orb rocketed through the air before striking the half Guado half human Maester in the face. The blow from the object sent the half breed sailing back through the air a few feet before landing on the back of his head with a loud thud.

Everyone looked behind Kimahri to see who had tossed the spherical object that had just saved to Ronso's life. "Whoa, Wakka!" Lauren exclaimed as the orange haired blitzer's blitzball returned to his arms in its original white and blue form instead of the water lagged form it had just been in to save the mighty Ronso guardian from the sadistic Maester's fira spell. "Way to go! You just saved Kimahri!" The blonde haired teen congratulated the blitzer for saving the blue furred guardian from the imminent doom the red-orange sphere of flame posed.

"I… I can't believe I just hit a Maester." Wakka stuttered, his arms shaking as well as his legs in horror at what he had just done to a keeper of his religion. Lauren came up to the distressed blitzer and stared him in the eye with an agitated look in her turquoise eyes.

"Can it Wakka!" Lauren shouted straight into the face of the orange haired blitzer drawing shocked glances from all her friends. "You know he's bad and yet you still feel bad about attacking him! I just don't get you, Wakka! You should be all for killing this sicko after what he has done and what he plans to do!" The blonde teen's shouting caused the big blitzer to cower in fear of the fury of his friend as she glared at him with piercing turquoise eyes.

"You two are amusing." Seymour said while laughing maniacally at the opposite feelings the two friends had about fighting him. Lauren shot the warped half breed a death glare signaling that she wasn't going to take any more crap from him. "Ah, I see you still want to fight. Then let me oblige to your wish with this. Feel my pain! Come, Anima!" The Maester summoned the twisted and disturbing monstrosity of an aeon that he had summoner back in Luca in the blitzball stadium to eradicate all the fiends that were assailing all the onlookers of the match. After the aeon had been ripped from its own dimension by the massive chained anchor, it let out a cry that was both fearsome and yet filled with some unknown pain that couldn't be explained.

"Oh, that's not good." Lauren muttered under her breath, trying to keep her fear hidden from her friends as well as Seymour for he would certainly make his own uses for it. Anima's lone, pain filled eye began to charge up the same energy that the blonde guardian had witnessed back in Luca that annihilated a fiend on impact. When she saw the aeon's single eye trained on her, the blonde teen muttered something under her breath before taking off in an attempt to avoid the powerful attack. The female aeon's head shot back with the immense recoil from its own attack sending it soaring through the air toward the plot of ground that the sixteen year old guardian stood upon. The tiles were blasted asunder by the aeon's overly powerful attack, creating a decent sized crater where it stuck the tile flooring. The blonde teen felt a hefty wind push at her back as her feet began to rise off the tiled floor as she ran away from the attack's impact zone. The blow sent her sailing through the air until she came in contact with Auron who was standing not more than ten feet away from where the explosion rocked the room.

Before she collapsed on the chill tiled floor, Lauren was gripped securely at the collar by Auron's muscular right hand. The legendary guardian set the young woman back upon her own feet with movement that was so gentle she couldn't believe that it was him placing her back upon her feet. The blonde teen gazed up at the taller swordsman with wonder in her turquoise eyes, questioning why he had been so tender with her that time and not any other. "Well, are you just going to stand there or fight?" The one eyed guardian's sharp words brought the teen out of her state of bewilderment and went back to concentrating on the fight at hand. The sword master let out a diminutive grunt of his agreement to going back to focusing on the battle against the warped Maester's equally deformed aeon. The blonde guardian and the eldest guardian stood side by side, weapons in a battle ready stance, staring down the disturbing aeon that resided before them.

Auron charged Anima head on, his massive blade dragging along the ground to his right instead of its usual position resting upon his right shoulder. While the warped aeon was being distracted by the legendary guardian's charge, Lauren rushed around behind it to scope out a weak spot where she could strike it while it was preoccupied. The master swordsman, upon entering the aeon's proximity, brought his colossal sword up along the ground, carving a disfigured gash in the tile floor in front of the aeon. The one eyed guardian's immense blade dug into the flesh of the gigantic fish aeon's front side right below its two crossed bulky arms. The horrible aeon let out a cry of anguish causing everyone in the domed room to shudder in pure fear except for Seymour, who seemed to actually be enjoying it.

After recovering from Anima's shrill cry, Lauren noted a spot on the aeon's back that appeared to be some sort of weak spot in the otherwise impermeable flesh. The blonde guardian poised her katana above the spot where the two plant leaf like things came up and split from one another, exposing a minuscule soft spot. The teen plunged her katana blade down upon the supple speck on the aeon's flesh, but stopped when she felt something chill approaching rapidly from behind her. Her turquoise eyes filled with terror as she turned to see a gigantic ice sickle hurtling through the claustrophobic air in the domed temple chamber. The blonde tumbled to the left side of the ice sickle, eluding the spell as it neared the fish aeon's back and then suddenly melted harmlessly away. As she shot back up from her crouched position out of her side roll, a sudden sharp pain shot through and up her left leg. Her turquoise eyes fell down upon her left leg to see that the wound she had obtained back on the frozen Macalania lake had broken open, crimson blood leaking through her jean pant leg.

Seymour strode up to the injured Lauren and glared down upon the blonde with eyes full of pleasure at her pain. The twisted Maester slowly reached his unusually large right hand down at the teen and wrapped his gnarled, chilled fingers around her smooth, slender neck. The blonde guardian let out a small gasp at the iciness of the half breed's fingers as they pressed down upon her neck with incredible force. The blonde's turquoise eyes shot wide open in anguish as she gasped for air that would not come to her lungs while the Maester's Guado hands squeezed her neck firmly. With one fluid motion of his right arm, the half Guado half human lifted up the incapacitated and now suffocating blonde teen. The teen guardian's brain screamed for oxygen as her lungs began to fill up with carbon dioxide and burn with a fiery vengeance. Her eyelids grew heavy and her vision began to blur with black haze, fogging her entire field of view from her brain.

Seymour began to snicker menacingly at the sight of the blonde teen being suffocating to death in his very hands. Out of nowhere a bold voice shot through the darkness of the world around the blonde at her assailant. "Let her go now!" Brotherhood slammed down upon the back of the neck of the twisted Maester causing him to drop his victim from the attack's momentum. The sixteen year old guardian's mouth shot wide open and brought in a deep breath of air to restore oxygen flow to her burning lungs as well as the rest of her trembling body. Her turquoise eyes fluttered open leisurely while also bringing up both her hands to rub her distressed eyes to relieve the black haze that enshrouded her vision. Removing her soft hands from her eyes, the blonde teen gazed up to see the sadistic Maester pushed back twenty feet from her and Tidus standing in between her and the half breed.

"You're not going to get away with any of this!" Tidus declared while pushing off of the plot of tile floor he had been standing on sending him rocketing toward Seymour at his top speeds. "Your reign of terror ends now, Seymour!" The blonde blitz ace shouted at the top of his lungs while brining brotherhood in his right arm up and around in front of neck whilst twisting his torso to give his next strike additional momentum. Leaping into the air, the blitz ace brought his crystal blue sword down in a diagonal slash from left to right, untwisting his torso to add the extra force he required. The sadistic Maester brought up his crimson colored staff in the path of the blonde's blade with a careless motion of his right arm. Brotherhood reflected off the warped Maester's staff with a noisy clang of metal on metal and was sent spiraling through the air backwards. The tip of the blue crystal blade sank into the tile flooring of the domed temple chamber with ease, wedging itself in there so tightly that it couldn't be pulled out with a simple yank.

Seymour began to laugh diabolically in his usual low, chilling voice that sent chills down anyone's spines that was present when he opened his gnarled mouth to speak with his forked tongue. "Now who were you saying was going to pay?" A crooked smile slid upon the warped Maester's thin grayed lips as he raised his crimson colored staff, lighting jumping from one outward jutting piece to the next. The lighting's hopping became more and more frequent as it began to solidify into one think, snaking bolt that wrapped itself around the Maester's staff just as an anaconda constricts its prey. The twisted half breed flung his right arm out in front of him and down from its raised position, unleashing his captured lighting bolt at the immobile blonde blitz ace. As the lighting bolt zipped through the air it created a superheated trail behind it just as the red-orange flame sphere had done before it.

Lauren winced in pain as she stood upon her feet to shout at her blonde friend to get out of the way of the thundara spell being hurled at him by Seymour. "Tidus, get out of the way!" The sixteen year old guardian's voice did not seem to reach her friend's ears for he continued to stare awkwardly at the lighting bolt looming ahead of him. Mustering all of her strength and pushing through the intense pain in her left leg, the blonde teen rushed over to where her blitz ace of a friend stood motionless. As the blonde guardian ran for her friend she stumbled in pain every few feet, but even the severe pain shooting up through her leg and up into her left side didn't stop her from rushing to her friend's aid. Seeing no other way to reach her stationary friend, the blonde teen leapt into the air in a forward diving formation to tackle the blitz ace out of the way of the thundara spell.

Tidus felt Lauren's right shoulder strike his side and lift him off his feet sending him and her sailing through the air to his right. The lighting bolt zipped through the space where the blonde blitz ace stood only seconds before, superheating the air in its path. The sixteen year old guardian's turquoise eyes clenched tightly as she felt a searing pain jolt up from her left leg in the exact same spot as her wound from the Al Bhed crawler. The ensuing blast from the spell sent the blonde teen soaring back through the air about thirty feet until her back slammed into one of the arched walls of the domed chamber. Before she hit the wall, the small black trinket that she had been harboring in her front jean pocket all the way from Besaid came sliding out of the pocket. As the blonde guardian landed on the tiled floor with a softened thud, slamming her face onto the chilled tiles whilst knocking the air out of her lungs, the minuscule black trinket came to a sliding halt at the sadistic Seymour's left foot.

"Lauren!" Yuna hollered to her injured friend from her spot staring down Anima while her remaining friends battled the terrible fish aeon. With a few motions of her summoner's staff, the honey brown haired summoner began to perform the summon for the new aeon she acquired at this temple. With a slight and humble bow with her arms outstretched down to her sides, the young summoner called forth diamonds of ice from out of the sky. The rather large diamonds of ice buried themselves into the tile ground, forming a small prison of ice behind the bi-color eyed, bowed summoner. Down from the very heavens that the ice prisms had come forth from descended a figure with skin that shimmered in a metallic, multicolored glow. The shimmering figure descended into the center of the prism of ice before flicking her head up triumphantly, dispersing the metallic shine to make way for her real bluish, purplish colored skin. With a flick of her right arm, the ice aeon discarded a piece of silver cloth from around her neck, shattering the ice prison that had formed around her into tiny shards of razor sharp ice.

Shiva drew back her right arm and placed her left hand at her wrist just as the Guado guardian had before her. Around her folded back, open palmed hand ice crystals began to whirl around in the most peculiar way, almost as if they were charging up for something to come. Within a few seconds of the ice crystals forming around the ice aeon's right hand she thrust it out in front of her toward the diabolic fish aeon that stood before her. As if out of nowhere, a huge gust of chilled wind shot through the room from behind the ice goddess, washing over the fish aeon residing in front. Massive ice ridges began to form over and around Anima, freezing the aeon into a fixed position by a prison of ice. The ice aeon took her left hand away from her right wrist and flipped her right arm around so the back of her hand was facing her frozen opponent instead of her flattened palm. With a leisurely snap of her middle finger and thumb, the ice goddess shattered the frozen prison that had formed around the fish aeon into millions of diminutive shards.

Anima let out a twisted cry of anguish as the zipping shards of ice dug into its fish scale like flesh, tearing its two massive chained arms to shreds. As the demonic fish aeon wilted away into pyreflies, Yuna rushed over to where Lauren was now laying upon the chilled tile flooring after being flung against the wall. The young summoner, without any hesitation, aimed her lightweight summoner's rod down at the injured body of her blonde friend. "Cura!" The brunet summoner shouted sending the white healing aura wafting down over the injured blonde guardian's body in a gentle manner. After the healing aura washed over her body, the sixteen year old guardian attempted to make a move but was stopped short as a searing pain shot up from her left calf muscle. The honey brown haired summoner, seeing her friend still in pain, sent another wave of the second level healing magic coursing through the blonde teen's injured left leg. The teen once again tried to move but was thwarted once again as the sharp pain shot up through her left leg and through her entire being.

"Rikku!" Yuna's words broke the adolescent Al Bhed concentration on staring down Seymour and brought her full attention on her cousin's call. Hesitating for only a moment, the blonde Al Bhed rushed over to the young summoner and the injured Lauren, who still was flat on the floor with pain. "Can you mix up some medicine, Rikku? My healing spells just aren't working." A lighthearted smile crept onto the blonde Al Bhed's face as her cousin asked her to mix something up to heal their friend.

"Yup-yup!" Rikku exclaimed whilst rummaging through several of the tiny pouches lashed around her waist containing various items and other objects. Upon finding the three vials that she desired, the adolescent Al Bhed whipped the vials out and twirled them between her fingers. A second later the blonde produced a small mixing vial in which she poured the contents of all three of the previous vials. With a swift flick of her wrist, the blonde Al Bhed popped a cork into the small opening at the top of the vial that now contained all three vials sloshed together. To mix up all three fluids, the blonde took the vial in her right hand and shook it violently up and down for about twenty seconds. The mixing done, the Al Bhed uncorked the vial and went over and kneeled down on her knees next to Lauren's injured left leg. The blonde Al Bhed slowly poured the contents of the clear vial onto her friend's burn and gash wound causing the teen to wince in pain at the slight stinging sensation the liquids forced upon her.

"How does that feel, Lauren?" Rikku asked in a soft and concern wracked voice that caught the sixteen year old guardian's attention through the slight stinging pain in her left calf. The blonde teen spread her arms out to their respective sides and pushed upon the ground as though she were doing pushups.

Pushing herself up off the ground, Lauren responded to Rikku's question as she then continued to push herself around so that she was sitting instead of in a push up position. "A lot better, Rikku." The blonde teen looked down at her left leg to see that both the burn mark and the deep gash in her calf were no longer there and that the pain had subsided. "Thanks." The sixteen year old guardian pushed herself up off the floor and back onto her own two feet while smiling friendly at the adolescent Al Bhed.

Off in the distance Seymour bent over and reached his gnarled hand for the black trinket that had come to a halt at his right foot. Wrapping his long fingers around the golden chain that was fastened to the object, the warped Maester repositioned himself back into an upright position. "Ah, I see you have kept this all this time since Besaid." The half breed's low chilling voice hissed, echoing off the bowed walls of the dome temple chamber.

"What is that?" Rikku queried to Lauren, for she wasn't with her, Tidus, and Wakka when they rescued that villager, thus acquiring the jet black trinket.

"I got it back on Besaid after Tidus, Wakka, and I saved this villager from a few coyotes the day we washed up on the island." Lauren explained how she and the two blitzers had obtained the very small black, gold chained trinket that Seymour now held in his crooked Guado hands. "I don't know what it does but the man said that it was the key to unlocking a great power, or something like that." The blonde teen glanced over at her friend to see if she understood all that had been said to her about the item.

"I've been longing for this moment ever since that man gave this to you." Seymour caressed the tiny black trinket with his left unusually large hand while holding it up by its golden chain with his right. "Now I will finally control a power strong enough to bring nothing but pain and suffering to all of Spira!" The half Guado half human Maester tilted his head back and put his arms out to their respective sides and let fly with maniacal laughter.

Lauren gawked at the demented Seymour as his laughter brought nothing but anger and fear into her heart as well as chills down her spine. "What are you talking about, you sicko! What power are you going to control that could enable you to do such terrible things!" The blonde teen strode up in front of the laughing Maester, katana in hand and giving him an icy glare. "And why was I your delivery girl!" The sadistic half breed's laughing halted at the blonde's inquiry as he slowly shifted his head down to stare at her with soulless gray eyes.

"Before I answer any of those questions. I have a special quest waiting behind that door," Seymour thrust out a gnarled finger at a crimson colored metallic door that suddenly appeared in the wall to his right. "that I think you would like to see." Without the Maester doing so much as a hand gesture, the metallic door flung open with a loud swoosh sound, catching everyone's attention. Out of the doorway stepped a young man about Lauren's age with a completely confused look plastered upon his face. He had black matted hair, appearing as though he had been locked up in a cell for some time. His blue eyes were wracked with depression and uncertainty as he stepped out onto the tile floor of the domed temple chamber. His black shirt was wrinkled all over and had dirt spots strewn about it as well as his black jean pants that were a little baggy on him.

Lauren's turquoise eyes shot wide open with shock, horror, and a dormant affection that had been sealed within for too long. 'Is that... No it can't be, can it?' The blonde teen continued to stare wide eyed at the young man standing not more than fifteen feet away from her. "Brian? Brian is that you?" The sixteen year old guardian's voice was just barely loud enough for everyone around her to hear, let alone the jet black haired young man standing farthest away from her.

'Who is this girl?' Brian stood still in front of the metallic door he had just emerged from with a perplexed look sitting upon his face as he was deep in thought. 'And how does she know my name?' His azure eyes glanced over to Lauren and seeing that she was trying to talk to him broke his line of thought and listened to what she had to say.

"Brian it's me, Lauren." The blonde teen proclaimed, striking another familiar cord in the young man's mind as he gazed into her pleading eyes. "Brian, don't you remember me?" The blonde inquired while staring into the jet black haired young man's eyes with a very distressed look on her face as well as in her eyes. "It's been over a year, but how could you forget me? You and I were…" Her turquoise eyes began to fill with tears after realizing that he wasn't remembering who she was to him. "How could you forget me? We loved each other!" She cried, tears making their ways down her cheeks and off her chin, creating small specks of water on the tiled floor. Everyone in the domed room gawked at their friend in astonishment; even Auron raised an eye brow and seemed to be paying attention to the blonde teen's heart being ripped in two.

Seymour began to chuckle demonically as Lauren collapsed to her knees, bawling her eyes out in the palms of her hands. "It seems that you reacted more to this little event more than I had hoped." The twisted Maester's words cut through the blonde teen's sobs and tacked right onto her heart as a reminder of what had happened here for years to come. "You are more amusing than I thought possible." The sadistic half breed's laughter brought the six teen year old guardian back upon her feet, tears still streaking down her chin.

"Wha… what did you do to him, you sadistic bastard!" Lauren screamed at the top of her lungs while flicking her head upright to stare at Seymour, tears shedding off her face and splattering everywhere. Her turquoise eyes flared up with anger but still retained the deep sadness that she felt.

"What did I do? I didn't do anything." Seymour snickered with pleasure at the amount of suffering he was inflicting on Lauren with every passing second. "I'm not the one you want if you are going to take revenge for your fallen love. Oh, but don't worry. My master is taking real good care of your darling's memories of you and everything else he has ever known." The half breed went into some more maniacal laughter upon noting the horrified expression on the tear streaked face of the blonde.

"Who is your master, and where can I find him!" Lauren queried in an angry voice that did little but amuse Seymour even more than he already was.

"You are in no position to ask me such questions." Seymour stated, an eerie smile creeping upon his thin gray lips as his words passed them to send chills down Lauren's spine. "Maybe if you beat me you will be in such a position, maybe." The twisted Maester began his diabolical laughter once again as the blonde guardian began to speak.

"Then I'll just have to beat you then, won't I?" Lauren declared, bringing up her katana's hilt up next to her face, the blade stretching out toward Seymour on a horizontal level. The blonde shifted her footing so that she would be standing with her left side facing toward the sadistic half breed, her katana poised at the right side of her head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Seymour warned Lauren whilst holding up the jet black trinket in the palm of his right Guado hand out in front of him several inches. The trinket residing in the Maester's right palm began to glow in a deep crimson and black resonance, emitting the same colored aura from the center of the item. "It's a curious thing, the human mind. It can decipher anything when it is put to good use but when fear comes into play all that is erased and replaced with pure instincts. Fear for one's life makes them do things that they would never do normally. Being able to control one's fears allows you to control them as a whole. With this very handy article one is able to control the fears of others, thus controlling the person themselves. And controlling one such as yourself, where your truly destructive powers are unleashed by certain emotions would prove to be much use for anyone, like I, that wishes to have power to have that power indirectly through the one they are controlling." The sadistic half Guado half human said as if he were a professor of something as the deep crimson and black aura made its way from the trinket to whirling around the blonde teen's head.

Lauren stared at the whirling crimson and black aura around her head with her turquoise eyes still filled with tears. All of a sudden the aura turned from a gentle wafting to a violent gust that shot into the blonde guardian's head, knocking her to the ground. Seconds later the six teen year old guardian returned to her feet, her blonde locks over laying her turquoise eyes. "La… Lauren, are you alright?" Rikku queried as she drew closer to her friend that was now standing with her blonde hair over her eyes and her katana in her right hand. The adolescent Al Bhed placed a hand on the sixteen year old guardian's right shoulder to cause her friend to face her or at least respond to her question. The blonde teen's right arm suddenly jolted out and struck the Al Bhed teen in her gut with the hilt of her katana. The blonde Al Bhed doubled over in pain and collapsed onto the tile floor while staring up at her assailant in wide eyed terror. The blonde guardian's usually turquoise eyes were now a piercing crimson that gave off a demonic feeling that put a gut wrenching terror into the adolescent Al Bhed.

"Lauren… what are you doing?" Yuna queried to her blonde teen friend who had just struck Rikku in the gut with her katana hilt violently without any regard for her friend's well being. The blonde guardian whirled around on her heels, her katana at neck level for the young summoner, glowing with a deep amethyst radiance. The katana's blade suddenly jumped out from where the tip of the blade was out to where the brunet summoner stood in shock. Kimahri leapt through the air toward the honey brown haired summoner as the possessed blonde's energy charged katana came in from the other side. The mighty Ronso guardian tackled the young summoner just a few inches under the arching blade stroke that sailed above them.

"I can sense the fear and suffering in all of you." Seymour began to laugh in the most demonic way he had since the group had entered the temple and began to speak with him. As if those words were a trigger, Lauren whipped her katana around in her right hand and then brought it back behind her with both hands without turning to face her quarry. The sadistic Maester let out a noise that sounded as though he was being suffocated as the possessed teen's violet glowing blade sank deeply into the flesh of his chest. Without so much as turning to face her victim, the blonde wrenched out her katana blade from within the warped Maester's chest with a startling crack as some of his rib cage was shattered into mere fragments. "Wher… ho… did I go wrong?" The half breed's words escaped from his thin gray lips in winded breaths, blood trickling out of his open mouth as he fell back onto the chilled tile floor.

Finally turning around to gaze at her handiwork, Lauren's now glowing crimson eyes seemed to grow brighter and more violent than before. The possessed blonde teen shifted her gaze around the dome room, scanning it for her next victim with her blood red eyes through locks of golden hair. Her eyes finally fixed themselves on Brian, a bloodlust growing larger and more unfathomable by each passing second. Slowly stalking over to her next victim, the possessed teen raised her devilish amethyst katana blade above her head in her right hand. The young man pleaded in unheard words as the sixteen year old guardian came nearer to him with each passing moment. The blonde guardian came to a halt about two feet in front of the jet black haired young man, who was frozen in fear, his deep azure eyes meeting with the possessed blonde's blood red glowering ones.

The possessed Lauren dropped her right arm down to her side, bringing her radiating amethyst katana down upon Brian's head. In mid swing; however, the possessed blonde teen felt something cold and hard strike the back of her neck causing her to stop her assault on the helpless young man. The momentum from the unknown blow sent her falling forward her vision fading to black as she tumbled closer and closer to the chilled tile floor. The bloodlust red glow in her eyes slowly began to diminish as her eyes narrower until they were back to their natural turquoise color. The blonde guardian struck the floor with a soft thud jolting her now back to normal eyes open for a split second to see the edge of a red coat flutter by her face before she fell into complete darkness.

Even though Lauren's sight and thoughts had left her, she could still hear and feel things around her in the domed chamber. She felt herself being lifted up onto a muscular man's shoulders and felt an unusually large collar brush past her right cheek as she was hoisted up. She then felt herself being carried around by the same person that lifted her up and then heard footsteps hurrying down the corridor that led into the domed chamber. Seconds after the footsteps had stopped, she could hear people yelling back and forth between one other and then the sound of something shattering. Then she heard some more shouting and then felt herself being carried hurriedly through a corridor that felt as cold as ice. After a few minutes of being in the chilly room, she felt herself being carried out of the frigid temperature of the chamber and into a much larger, warmer one. Then after a few seconds of running through that chamber she found herself in another chilly room but the sound of wind rushing through the canyons around her told her that she was outside.

Lauren felt herself be shifted from her carrier's right shoulder to his left as the wicked cries of random fiends broke through the darkness. She felt a sudden jostle as her carrier assailed a fiend, slaying it in one simple stroke of his massive blade. Then she felt herself being carried as her carrier took flight again from an unseen force through a whistling wind filled passage. Then her captor laid her down onto something that was solid with a chill that seeped through her clothes and touched her skin causing her body to instinctively shiver slightly. Loud, thundering footsteps sounded off signaling the arrival of some rather large fiend and also explaining why her carrier had laid her down. The clashing of blades against ice and the shrill bellows of a fiend in pain rang through the blonde's ears as her friends fought off the yeti like fiend that the Guado's had sent on them. A few moments later she heard the sound of the great beast giving way to her friends' attacks and crying out in deep throated pain. The next second she felt the fiend smash its immense fists into the ice sending cracks jutting out in every direction from the point of impact. The teen felt the ice below her give way to her weight, plunging her into something that she didn't have the slightest clue what it was. As she plummeted, the blonde could sense her hearing and touch go numb, leaving only empty thought and darkness in their wake.


	10. Broken Alliances, Kidnapping

Chapter Ten: Broken Alliance, Kidnapping

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Yep, Seymour's dead; however, he doesn't stay that way, that bastard! You'll find out in this chapter who has Brian's memories. As far as Sintanan goes, he makes an appearance in this chapter about two times and you'll find out exactly who and what he is later on in the story. Glad you thought he was cool, I tried to make him pretty cool. Glad you liked the part where Lauren was possessed, for I got to kill Seymour with her in a more gruesome way that if she were normal. Anyway, onto when she wakes up! Hope you like it!

**dark dragon knight1993**: Hey, yep I have broken away from the story line, as I intended to, just earlier on in the fic I didn't know what I wanted to do but now I do, so it's all good. Yes, I got a 100 on my English final and my teacher said it was going to be used as the example for classes to follow, too. Hey, thanks for the complement about the fight with Seymour! Don't worry you could write like me if you tried to learn better grammar and looked up better words in the dictionary. Seriously it didn't take me that long to get to this writing level. It took me about six months or less and I wasn't even trying to learn anything, just imagine if you TRIED to learn stuff. Glad you liked the possessed Lauren part, I think all of my other readers did, too, even though I don't have too many readers as it is… Yeah, I put in a cliffhanger and I'm glad to see that you liked it, I'm not usually too good with stuff like that, I don't know why, though. As for reading your fics, I already read that one, which you should know by my review, and I hope that the pointers I gave you were of some help. Hey, if you ever want to like ask me something or something I already gave you my screen names and stuff in the review. I'm on basically all day so I'll probably be on if you want to talk or ask me something. Anyway, onto the chapter! Hope you enjoy it! It's away from the story line, for the most part.

As consciousness returned to her, Lauren fluttered her turquoise eyes open, wincing at an unknown pain, only to see darkness surrounding her. Slowly, and painfully the blonde teen rose to her shaky feet, gazing around at the pitch-black void that surrounded her in every direction. The sixteen year old guardian took one step forward and felt a sharp pain jut up through her legs causing her to let out a meek cry of pain. "Hello? Is there anybody here?" The teen queried into the intense darkness that encircled her, making sure not to move, unless wanting to invoke the stinging pain that lurked within her body. A chill wind picked up out of the darkness to the blonde guardian's right causing her to turn her head toward the source of the bizarre breeze.

"Hello again, Lauren." The fayth greeted the blonde teen as she materialized out of the darkness on the same gust of chilled wind that caught her guest's attention. The sixteen-year-old guardian began to open up her mouth to speak but was silenced by a raised hand from the fayth and her words. "I know you must have questions for me, but some cannot be answered at this point in time." The fayth stated in her usually calm and peaceful voice that harbored no hostility toward anyone that she had met or not have.

"Why didn't you tell me what was going to happen there!" Lauren inquired in a voice that seemed to off set the calming feeling inside the fayth to bring a more astonished look up to her surface.

"I told you that you were going to have to overcome something both physically and emotionally soon and that you should prepare yourself for this event." The fayth said in an attempt to calm down Lauren but it seemed to have only the exact opposite affect on the teen. "However, you did nothing to prepare for your trial so that is why things happened the way they did." The blonde guardian's turquoise eyes were filling up with hatred toward the benevolent being and at the same time sadness as she thought over what exactly had happened to her.

"But why didn't you help me! I thought you were the one that brought me here to fulfill my destiny by helping out Yuna and said that I couldn't die again or I would be dead permanently." Lauren shouted at the silent fayth, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she thought of what she was going to say next. "I… I almost killed Yuna… and… Brian…" The blonde teen began to sob softly as she ripped her eyes off of the fayth and set them on a plot of empty darkness that loomed below her.

"I am terribly sorry for any trepidation or heartbreak you suffered, Lauren, but even if I wanted to help you there was no way in doing it." The fayth apologized for her lack of power to help the blonde teen out when she was fighting for her life. "It seems he has found out about me helping you and had placed a barrier around the temple to prevent me from helping you during that specific event." The fayth elaborated on what she meant by she couldn't have helped the sixteen-year-old guardian out even if she had wanted to.

"Who is this _he _you keep talking about!" Lauren hollered her bitter question at the unaffected fayth, who did little but stand there with an unemotional look plastered upon her shrouded face. "You told me that he controls Sin and that his teachings are followed throughout Spira, but what is his name!" The blonde teen queried with intrigue apparent in her enraged voice to the fayth who still stood motionless just a few feet in front of her.

"That is one of those questions that are just unanswerable at this point in time." The fayth explained how she wasn't going to reveal the true identity of the keeper of Spira to the questioning blonde teen. "It is one of those things that is better to find out on your own." The fayth's added comment seemed to strike a violent cord within the sixteen-year-old guardian that sent her into a spiral of despair and helplessness.

"Then what is the point in helping you if you aren't even going to tell me anything or give me any help when I need it most!" Lauren yelled at the fayth, tears beginning to overtake her eyes along with fear and helplessness flooding her mind.

"I will show you what the point in doing all this is." The fayth said as she began to fade into the darkness that was once a backdrop for her as she spoke with Lauren. Suddenly a flash of bright white light shot up from where the fayth had just been standing only seconds before causing the blonde teen to cover her turquoise eyes to prevent herself from being blinded by the flash. As the light diminished and the teen lowered her right arm out of her eyes she saw a sight that she thought she would never see in her life.

"What is this?" Lauren inquired as she gazed down upon herself, only she was laid out upon a hospital bed with IV's stuck in her arms and a heart monitor.

"This is what is going on in your own world." The fayth explained, fazing in next to Lauren as she just gazed down at herself in the hospital bed in wide-eyed awe and at the same time horror. "This is the reason why you are doing the things that you are now." At the fayth's words, the blonde teen's parents and one of her friends, Rachel, came into view out of nowhere. "You are fighting so that you can get back to your own world and restore happiness to the ones that love you."

"How long has it been? Three weeks already?" Lauren's mother queried out loud to herself from her spot standing at the left side of the hospital bed next to her husband. "Lauren, honey, you got to wake up soon…" The blonde teen's mother talked to her daughter's unconscious body while also placing and hand on the teen's head.

"Don't worry, dear. Lauren is a strong girl. She will pull through this." The blonde guardian's father placed his arms around his wife in a loving and comforting embrace tears forming in both their eyes. "We just have to wait patiently till she can overcome this and come back to us." The blonde teen's father's words were filled with sorrow and a strange kind of hope that brought even more tears to the teens already moistened turquoise eyes.

"C'mon Lauren, you gotta wake up already! Everybody misses you at school and your family misses you and I miss you." Rachel cried out at her unconscious best friend's side, hiding her tear filled hazel eyes under long strand of wavy black hair.

"Honey, we all love you…" Lauren's mother was back to speaking to her unconscious daughter's body, tears almost choking her words into incoherent mumbles. "Please wake up soon, Lauren…" The blonde teen's turquoise eyes were filled with tear that slid like torrents down her checks and off her chin, dripping onto the tile floor silently.

"Mom!" Lauren hollered through sob-wracked breaths, taking off toward her as fast as her legs would carry her. The blonde teen threw her arms around her mother's shoulders, only to fall right through her and smack her head of the ground below. "Wha-… what!" The sixteen-year-old guardian exclaimed as she got back onto her feet as swiftly as she could and waved her left hand through her mother's face.

"This is only a vision of your world, not the real thing." The fayth clarified to Lauren, who now had tears streaming down her face in torrent like manner, leaving streaks upon her cheeks. "Think of it as you are a ghost and that you cannot interact with anything or anyone, only see and hear them." The fayth tried to calm the blonde teen out of her hysterical state, but it was to no avail. The sixteen year old guardian still stood there, a few inches from the image of her mother, tears pouring out of her turquoise eyes and down her cheeks.

"I… I want to see them all again…" Lauren managed to utter through her sobs that had now turned into loud cries from their silent predecessors. "I want to be with them again…" The blonde teen was now down on her knees with her fists clenched tightly atop her knees, trying to hold back the flood of tears welling up in her eyes.

"And you will be with them again _if _you go back with new determination in fulfilling your destiny and face and overcome any obstacle that may present itself." The fayth's words seemed to instill a new kind of hope and feeling of determination in Lauren causing her to stop shedding tears and appear as though she had a new lease on life.

"I have to be with them again! I can't give up now!" Lauren proclaimed in a determined voice as she got to her feet and wiped the tears from her turquoise eyes and removed the streaks from her cheeks. "I can't be brought down by anything! I got to move on and find a way to fix it so I can be with everyone I love!" The blonde teen declared, an obvious hint of sorrow glistened in her eyes but was soon replaced with sheer resolve.

"Now that you understand just what the reason is that you have to keep going, you can go back to Yuna and the rest of your new friends." The visions of the hospital room and Lauren's loved ones slowly dispersed, leaving the two standing in the pitch black void that they were only moments before. "It's time for you to wake up, Lauren." The fayth disappeared, leaving only her echoing words in her wake as the blonde teen's vision became hazy and then faded to black once more, a feeling that she was getting used to now after being in Spira for about three weeks.

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Lauren felt a gentle tug at her shoulders, and then a familiar voice flooded into her ears causing them to twitch a little at the surprisingly loud noise. "Lauren, wake up, please!" Rikku knelt beside the now awakening blonde teen with her hands placed on the waking girl's shoulders, giving them a little shake to add to the impact of her pleading voice. The sixteen-year-old guardian flicked her turquoise eyes open halfway then closed them and then opened them up all the way, squinting in the bright light that flooded her vision even though there wasn't any unusually bright light surrounding her. "Lauren, you're awake!" The adolescent Al Bhed exclaimed excitedly, leaping onto her feet, almost dragging her drowsy friend along for the ride. "Oh sorry!" The blonde haired Al Bhed apologized to her friend as she finally noted that she had almost launched her friend into the air as she leapt gleefully.

"It's no problem, Rikku. Just next time watch what you're doing around others, 'k?" Lauren stated groggily as she brought herself to get upon her own two feet while getting a crick out of her neck that had been laid in an awkward position for some time and also got hit by Auron's sword.

"How do you feel, Lauren?" Rikku inquired as the sixteen-year-old guardian preformed a few stretches, getting all the other ailments out of her body that could be exorcized from mere stretching.

"I've been better, but I can't really complain." Lauren admitted, ending her series of stretches and looking Rikku in the eye for a brief second that showed the adolescent Al Bhed a hint of sorrow held deep within the pupil. "Where's Yuna! Is she alright!" The blonde teen suddenly shouted rather loudly as a memory of her almost decapitating the young summoner flew into her mind with no others following.

"Oh, it's alright, Lauren. Yunie's fine!" Rikku proclaimed in her usually upbeat voice that could cheer up almost anyone instantly, thus putting an end to the sixteen year old guardian's worst fears. "She's right over… there!" The blonde Al Bhed pointed through some rubble of odd looking blue rocks along with pieces of some sort of building. "But, she's still unconscious…" The young Al Bhed's words stopped the blonde guardian in her tracks fro she was going to go check on her brunette friend.

"Well, at least she's safe…" Lauren muttered, her words becoming soft and grief filled as she began to trail off at the end of her statement. The blonde teen then continued over to where a slab of what appeared to be a substance much like concrete sat two feet deep, her turquoise eyes trained on the marsh like soil underfoot.

"Lauren, can I ask you something?" Rikku's inquiry caused the blonde teen to look up at her Al Bhed friend and give a slight nod, a deep remorse evident in her eyes. "So, was that guy back in the temple your ex-boyfriend, Brian, that you told me died over a year ago?" The adolescent Al Bhed came close to her sixteen-year-old friend and sat down upon the concrete like slab, mere inches away from her.

"Yeah, Rikku. That was him…" Lauren's voice was barely audible over the sound of a distant singing that resided in the backdrop that was half of the Macalania temple. Tears began to leak from within the constructs of the blonde teen's miserable looking turquoise eyes, making their way down her chilled and battered cheeks.

"But why didn't he recognize you?" Rikku queried in a voice of her own that was also barely audible over the hymn of the fayth in the background but significantly louder than Lauren's. "I mean how could he forget you if you two were in love with each other? Even if it has been a little over a year since you two were together." The adolescent Al Bhed's voice became louder and louder as she became more and more outraged that he could just cast aside a love like Lauren and not even remember her.

"Weren't you listening to that whack job Seymour, Rikku!" Lauren hollered at the blonde Al Bhed in a loud voice that harbored a lot of built up hatred that she did not intend to be brought out. "He said that his _master_, whoever that is, stole Brian's memories and is keeping them wherever he is!" The sixteen-year-old guardian added angrily in the wake of no response from the adolescent Al Bhed that sat no more than four inches away from her.

"I'm sorry, Lauren…" Rikku whispered just loud enough for the suddenly enraged blonde teen to hear her over her own loud furious thoughts. "I'll pay more attention next time…" Upon hearing the sincerity in the adolescent Al Bhed's voice, the sixteen-year-old guardian's thoughts came to a crashing halt and all her hatred and anger toward her friend dissolved within a few seconds.

"It's not your fault, Rikku. It's mine." Lauren had now calmed down and placed a comforting hand on the adolescent Al Bhed's right shoulder as she apologized. "I don't know what came over me to yell at you like that, Rikku. And for that, I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of emotional stress right now." The sixteen-year-old guardian's words caused her Al Bhed friend to turn and face her with her jade swirl eyes full of understanding and compassion.

"I understand, Lauren." Rikku said in a voice that was both uncertain and, at the same exact time, full of understanding mustered from within the depths of the Al Bhed's mind. "It must be really tough to go through something like what you had to go through with having the one you love right in front of you but not be able to reach him. And then to have someone control you by using your fear to almost kill everyone you care about. That must be the hardest thing anyone could ever have to go through." The young Al Bhed's jade swirl eyes were filled with sympathetic sorrowfulness for her friend that had now grown very close to her since they had met.

"Thanks for understanding, Rikku." Lauren expressed her gratitude toward the blonde haired Al Bhed by embracing her in a compassionate hug that thanked her for everything she had done for her. "I just feel so lost and helpless right now, but that was no reason to get angry with you. I think I need some time alone now, though." The sixteen year old guardian got up from the seat next to her adolescent Al Bhed friend and strolled over to a piece of debris that resembled a leaned back chair that gazed into the sky aimlessly.

"Hey Rikku!" Tidus' cheery voice brought the adolescent Al Bhed out of her pondering about how she could cheer Lauren up. "Yuna's waking up!" The blonde blitz ace hollered as soon as he had the blonde haired Al Bhed's full attention and not a moment sooner. A lighthearted smile soon overtook the Al Bhed's face, casting aside the looks of sorrow and helplessness to make way for her new feelings.

Rikku ran over to where Tidus and Kimahri stood around Yuna as she began to stir a bit in her sleep signaling that she was about to awaken. "Yunie, you okay?" The blonde haired Al Bhed queried to her cousin as soon as she opened up her bi-colored eyes and moved her head around.

"I'm alright, Rikku." Yuna said reassuringly as she began to rise to her feet while rubbing her bi-colored eyes in an attempt to shake some of the sleepiness away. "What about everyone else? Are they alright?" The young summoner inquired after only noticing her cousin, Tidus, and Kimahri standing around her, everyone else hidden from her view.

"Well, Wakka's pretty shaken up by all this but other than that he's fine." Tidus went on to explain how everyone one was since Yuna had been unconscious this whole time just as Lauren had before her. "Lulu's just Lulu and Auron's just Auron. And Lauren is… um… Rikku you were with her, weren't you?" The blonde haired blitz ace queried to the young Al Bhed for her to fill in where he left off about telling Yuna how everyone was.

"Lauren's over there." Rikku pointed a slender finger through a gap in some debris that showed the blonde teen sitting on the chair like concrete just staring off into space lost in her own thought. "She's fine physically but I don't know how she's holding up emotionally now. She said that she just wanted to be alone for a while to think and stuff." The adolescent Al Bhed explained just as Yuna was about to start off for their friend but then stopped at her cousin's last comment.

"Well, if she wants to be alone then we'll do just that." Yuna said with a bit of sadness evident in her voice, as she went over and sat on a slab of debris sitting right next to where Kimahri was standing. "When she's ready to talk, she'll come to us." The honey brown haired summoner stated more to herself than to Rikku or Tidus who were standing just a few feet from her.

"Yunie," Rikku spoke her cousin's name shortly following the few moments of silence created by the young summoner's words. The brunette summoner ripped herself away from her own thoughts and focused her bi-colored eyes on her cousin's jade swirl ones. "Do you think Lauren is going to be alright? I mean she's been suffering a lot of emotional and physical stress lately and I just don't know if she can handle it, you know?" The adolescent Al Bhed's jade eyes were now filled with a deep seeded concern for her friend and how she will cope with everything that has happened to her.

Yuna had to think a minute to gather up the right words to say to her cousin that were both true and supportive at the same time. "I think Lauren can handle herself pretty well, but I do not know how much she can take before she breaks." The honey brown haired summoner expressed her feelings about how well she thought the blonde teen could take care of her own problems. "If she can't handle it by herself we have to be there for her with compassion when she decides to come to us for aid." The young summoner slash white mage's bi-colored eyes filled with a new resolve to keep to her word and wait for Lauren to come to her.

"Yeah but what if she needs us but she doesn't want to come to us because she's like embarrassed or just feels uncomfortable with talking with others about her problems?" Rikku wondered to Yuna in a voice that was now as soft as a whisper and filled with indecision if her friend would actually come to them if she needed them.

"Don't worry, Rikku. She will come to us if she feels like she needs to talk it out with someone." Yuna patted the blonde Al Bhed on her back comfortingly as her words made contact with the blonde's ears, further soothing her but not entirely.

"I guess you're right, Yunie!" Rikku exclaimed whilst draping her right arm around the honey brown haired summoner's shoulders friendly. "I guess I just gotta stop worrying about things and let them happen how they're meant to." The blonde Al Bhed turned away from the young summoner and gazed off into the sky off over where Lauren sat, doing the same, lost in thought.

A few moments later the hymn of the fayth disappeared leaving the only sound left in the area to reign, silence. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble causing everyone to go into a panic except for Lauren, who seemed too lost in her thoughts to notice. "What's going on!" Tidus hollered as the shaking began to grow more and more violent, his blue eyes scanning the area till he found something most unpleasant.

"Sin!" Yuna shouted in horror as her bi-colored eyes met the exact same spot that Tidus was gawking at where the behemoth monstrosity motionless. All of a sudden Sin turned to face the group and then the quivering of the ground reached its peak.

"Lauren! Get out of there!" Rikku shouted to her blonde friend that had just come out of her deep thoughts to the events taking place around her. The sixteen-year-old guardian shot to her feet whilst glancing back and above her to see what was causing all the terror in the adolescent Al Bhed's voice. Her turquoise eyes shot wide open in dread as she saw Sin floating up and behind her only a hundred yards away from her.

"The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu shot her warning through the air in a much louder than her usual voice as she came into view from wherever she was residing before Sin showed up. Lauren attempted to move but darkness overtook her, plunging her into yet another unconscious state that she had gone into plenty of times already since she had gotten to Spira. The blonde teen could feel herself fall into something slightly mild in temperature and heard a few random shouts from her friends that she could not decipher before her mind went entirely blank.

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Lauren felt herself, on her back, in some substance that gave her a feeling of buoyancy and also that of drifting in and out from a certain point. After a few seconds of aimless drifting she felt her head slam into something rock hard with a tiny little sharp bump that stung at the top of her head bitterly. She shot up into a sitting position immediately after her head connected with the solid entity to find that she sank down into something that she could only speculate was water. Her turquoise eyes shot wide open as she sprang to her feet, only to smack her head on something that felt as rock hard as the other object except no spiked point driving into her skull. The blonde teen bent over a little to keep her injured head from brushing against whatever was above her whilst rubbing the bruised spot on her head where both of the entities had struck her. Opening up her turquoise eyes once again after being blinded by pain, the sixteen-year-old guardian glance around at what little she could see.

'_Where am I?_' Lauren wondered in her mind whilst taking in her dark and gloomy surroundings with her bleary turquoise eyes. The blonde teen found herself standing mild temperature water up to just about her waist that was murky and appeared as though it had been in wherever she was for quite some time without any substantial freshwater supply. The walls, as the blonde soon realized when she ran her hand along the wall to her left, were slick with clammy mosses running all across the concrete like blocks forming the walls around her. Suddenly a revolting stench wafted into the blonde guardian's nostrils causing her to wince in disgust, almost striking her head against the moss covered ceiling again. '_ugh! What is that awful smell!'_ The blonde teen complained mentally as she groped around for something solid and rough to get a grip on as she waded through the murky, waist deep, water.

Out of the corner of her right eye, Lauren noted some sunlight pouring into the darkness of wherever she was through some rather large hole. Carefully, the blonde teen made her way toward the light, partially bent over, and slipping on the moss that she had now found on the bottom of the small canal of dim water she was itinerant through. As she finally reached the beam of sunlight beating down upon the usually murky water, giving it a clearer quality, the blonde gazed up through the gap that it was coming through. The sixteen-year-old guardian squinted her turquoise eyes and placed and arm just above, almost half covering, her eyes to shield them from the intense burn the blinding light was giving off. As her eyes became used to the concentrated sunbeams, the teen looked her surroundings once over, noting a small, fragile looking, ladder propped up against the wall leading up to the circular opening in the ceiling. The blonde began to ascend the rickety old ladder, only to have one of its rungs snap under her weight almost causing her to plummet back down into the gloomy water. Luckily, she held onto one of the upper rungs of the antique ladder with both her hands allowing her to get her footing back on a higher rung and proceed up the unsound ladder to wherever it led.

Upon exiting the slender shaft that she could barely fit through leading up to what she could only hope was the surface, Lauren shielded her turquoise eyes once again from the blinding sunlight beating down upon her. A few moments later, the blonde teen was able to bear the daylight and removed her arm from over her eyes to look out at her surroundings. She was in a dome like structure but it was all ripped asunder with holes punched through the metallic structure all over the place as well as extensive slits in the metal where it looked like something burrowed its massive talons in it and then just ripped the structure and new window. Running down along the center of the metallic structure was an immense tear in the metal where it was cloven into two entirely separate shelters from the blistering heat scorching the earth outside the shield of shade cast down upon the earth by the mutilated ruins. Rays of sunlight slipped through the slashed and punctured metal of the exoskeleton for the one in use structure that appeared to have been dormant for many years to the sixteen year old guardian, lighting up many plots of sand that was all around her.

"It's so hot up here!" Lauren complained out loud to herself whilst slipping her orange and black sweatshirt over her head, revealing her emerald colored T-shirt underneath. The blonde teen peered out through the massive rift in the metallic structure to see nothing but sand, ruins doting the entire expanse, as far as she could see. Lashing her waterlogged orange and black sweatshirt around her waist, the blonde teen noted another, smaller, dome shaped ruin only a few tens of yards away from her and decided, upon glancing around at the one she was currently in, to stroll over there out of sheer boredom. As soon as she stepped out into the direct sunlight, the sixteen-year-old guardian's breath was torn from her lungs as the sweltering heat encircled her and made a tight grip around her, chocking half the oxygen in the air from her lungs. Out of breath and dumbfounded as to how hot it was, the teen finally made it over to the other ruined structure and sat down for a few moments on a large rock jutting out of the golden sand in the refreshing shade cast by the ruins.

Once she had regained her breath and stopped sweating, for the most part, from the stifling heat, Lauren gazed about the plot of land underneath the shade emitting, domed ruins. Something small and wooden protruding from the golden sand a mere five feet from the blonde caught her turquoise eyes causing her to investigate it. Upon closer inspection, the sixteen-year-old guardian realized that it was a wooden desk that was buried mostly beneath the sand except for the one corner that she was scrutinizing, a diminutive door facing out toward the teen. The blonde placed her right hand on the tiny knob fixed to the dark wooden door and gave it a gentle tug that slid all the contents out into the open. Within the container laid a few rusted nuts and bolts, a few various writing utensils and a rather large, leather bound book, a title printed on it in large crimson letters that the blonde guardian could not decipher. Curious about what was inside the dark leather bound manuscript, the blonde teen cracked it open, unleashing a wave of sand and dust upon herself. Chocking down the dust and spitting out the gritty sand, the blonde scanned her turquoise eyes over the frayed ended pages of the beat up manuscript.

After about ten minutes of scanning through the pages, Lauren let out a frustrated sigh and closed the leather bound book in an infuriated manner, slamming it loudly on a rock protruding from the depths of the golden sand next to her. "What is that written in?" The blonde teen wondered aloud to herself in a voice that showed both anger and exasperation, referring to the tattered manuscript that laid next to her. "I couldn't understand a word of it except for that one word… "Sintanan" I think it was. I wonder what that means." The sixteen-year-old guardian let out a bored sigh and glanced back at the container she had previously removed from the generally buried desk. Something caught the blonde's eye as it glinted in the sunlight pouring through one of the many small and large punctures alike in the metallic exoskeleton of the ruins. "What's this?" The teen gripped the minute trinket in the palm of her hand and pulled it completely out of the wooden container it had laid in for who knows how long. "It looks like that sphere thing back in Macalania woods that had Tidus' dad on it. Now how did they turn it on?" The blonde wondered as she flipped the blue and white colored sphere with a golden base around in her hands until one of her fingers accidentally struck the on switch.

The sphere made a few buzzing and crackling noises before it finally faded on and revealed a scene that looked very much like Lauren's current surroundings. A scorching hot desert played out on the spherical monitor, scanning the horizon as if it were looking for some one or something that was supposed to be arriving soon. Then the focus of the sphere changed swiftly to a small settlement of buildings that looked much like that the blonde teen thought the ruins around her would look like if they weren't all destroyed. Voices and laughter could be heard in the distance as the sphere traced around the outline of the small encampment, the sun casting an eerie orange glow through the sky as it neared sundown. Then the sphere's focus turned onto a small hut-like building that had armed people standing in front of, those of which the sixteen year old guardian recognized as Al Bhed garments. Finally, the sphere changed its focus back to the unwavering horizon, a strong gust of wind kicking up golden sand into the air and carrying it away in harmonious flight.

Suddenly one of the guards from before shouted franticly and the sphere focused back on the diminutive hut-like structure to see a clocked figure assailing the five-armed guards outside the building. Within a few seconds the five guards fell to the cloaked man's wicked black blades, one resting in each of his shrouded hands, his head hung down as if chuckling to himself. The keeper of the sphere set it down upon something that Lauren could only guess was a table or something at that height and saw the man take off toward the settlements assailant. With one fell swoosh of the cloaked man's right wicked black blade, the keeper of the sphere's head detached from the rest of his body and plummeted to the golden sand, staining it with its crimson colored blood. More and more armed men charged at the cloaked man but one by one they all fell hastily to the mysterious man's superior weapon skills. One of the guards snuck up behind the cloaked man and trained the barrel of his gun at the back of the mystifying man's head and shouted something in a language that the blonde teen didn't understand.

"Oui fuh'd kad yfyo fedr drec, Sintanan!" Something deep inside the cloaked man seemed to snap at the guard's last word, causing him to flick out his right arm to his side, dark metal blade glistening in the last remnants of the day's sunlight. The cloaked man pivoted on his heels and swiftly brought the wicked blade in his right hand around with his body right at the guard's head level. Nothing happened for a split second before the cloaked man brought out his second wicked blade and began to hack away at the still standing guard with a ferocity that the blonde teen had never witnessed in her life. About thirty seconds later, the mysterious man set his dark metal, wicked blades to their respective sides and turned away from the standing guard, his rifle still trained on the back of the cloaked man's head. The sixteen-year-old guardian watched in utter horror and the guard's head fell off of his body and then fell into ten separate slices, each splattering crimson blood all over the golden sand underfoot. Seconds later, the rest of the guard's still standing body fell into abut thirty thinly sliced slivers, crimson blood soaking the sand underneath down at least two feet.

The cloaked man strode forth toward the cluster of buildings that resided farther back in the encampment, his head bowed evilly, and his dual blood soaked wicked blades hanging at his sides. High pitched screams as that of a woman or little kids rang out through the sunset filled sky as the cloaked man kicked down the wooden door of one of the little buildings of the settlement. Another shrill cry pierced the otherwise silence of the setting but was cut off by a sickening thud as a body sailed through the wall, even though it was metal, of one the structure the cloaked man had entered. Within another moment the building from which the body came from exploded into deep amethyst flames that licked at the sky, leaving the outline of the deep flames in haze. Surprisingly, the cloaked man strode forth from the burning building, unscathed and proceeded to saunter over to the next structure to his right. This structure also burned in amethyst flames, but instead of going into the building, the cloaked man stood outside and unleashed a terrible sphere of the same colored flames at the building. Soon all the structures in the encampment were set ablaze and the devilish, cloaked man strode up toward where the sphere that recorded his whole slaughter lay. From within the depths of the shadows that shrouded the man's face shot two piercing green eyes that sent extreme chills of terror down Lauren's spine.

The blue and white sphere made a few odd noises and then the screen faded to black and nothing more was seen of the incident that was recorded within it. Lauren just sat there, dumbfounded, by all the horror she had just witnessed and wondered if it was just a dream for it seemed just too terrible to be real. The blonde teen's eyes were filled with sheer dread as the image of the cloaked figure's piercing jade eyes staring back at her turquoise ones. "Wha… what was he?" The sixteen year old stuttered, her voice tainted with inexplicit fear as she pondered on what she had just witnessed on the sphere. "That name… Sintanan. That was in this book." The blonde picked the heavy, leather bound manuscript back up into her grasp and flipped through a few of the torn and frayed pages till she located the word 'Sintanan' in italicized Al Bhed letters. "But just who is he and what does this book say about him?" The blonde guardian queried to herself in a voice that was still shaky from the events she had just witnessed on the blue and white sphere, her turquoise eyes scanning the pages of the book again to see if she could stumble on any more words that made sense to her.

"Nothing…" Lauren muttered to herself, closing up the heavy, leather bound manuscript and setting down upon the golden sand that surrounded her in every direction. The blonde teen was about to mutter something to herself when she felt the very ground she sat on quake by a force unknown to her at the time. '_What could this be?_' The sixteen-year-old guardian thought as she strolled over to a fissure in the exoskeleton of the domed ruins she was in and peered out over the expanse of golden sand. Out of the corner of her turquoise eye, the blonde caught a glimpse of a massive shadow moving toward the metallic ruins in which she resided at the moment. Her first instinct was to run but she chocked that down with reason and stayed put, concealed by the remnants of the metallic ruins. The shadow finally took shape a few moments later, revealing a colossal slug-like fiend, cloudy white saliva dripping off its flower bud like brown mouth. The rest of its immense body was also that same light brown color as its mouth except for its underside, which was violet in color and left a sticky trail of ooze in its wake. Just below its curled upward head was a few slits in its violet colored flesh that looked almost like gills that the blonde guardian put to memory as a weak spot if she ended up fighting it.

The massive slug-like fiend leisurely tilted its eyeless face toward the ruins where Lauren was hiding and came to a sluggish halt, staring down at the blonde with its eyeless beak. The blonde teen did not make any movements, and the enormous fiend kept staring at her with its eyeless head with an unnerving stare. Finally, the sixteen-year-old guardian made a mistake and shifted her weight causing her katana's finger guard to strike the metallic outer shell of the ruins in which she was hiding in. The immense slug-like fiend lurched towards the teen and the tattered metallic ruins she resided in at the moment and then just stopped a few yards away. All of a sudden the fiend reared its massive head back, its flower bud like beak falling into place, and then snapped it back forward, slamming into the walls of the metallic ruins with a deafening thud. The blonde guardian fell back deeper into the domed, metallic ruins she was in to avoid being struck by a falling scrap of metal that the fiend had knocked lose when it rammed the exoskeleton of the structure. The fiend slammed its colossal head again on the metallic ruins bringing them down with only the second of its mighty blows sending the blonde teen running for her life from the collapsing dome like stricture.

'_Okay, I guess I have no choice but to fight that thing now._' Lauren thought as she unsheathed her katana whilst fleeing from the collapsing remains of the building, rounding around them and heading toward the massive slug-like fiend. At first the colossal fiend didn't notice the blonde teen charging from the other side of the now destroyed dome ruins and up along its left side. The sixteen-year-old guardian plunged her katana into the slug like fiend's supple side flesh all the way up to the finger guard with a sickening slosh. A strange fluid began to pour out of the puncture wound that the blonde had inflicted upon it that caused her to lead back away from the fiend in disgust, tearing a gash in the slug-like fiend's supple side flesh as long as her katana's blade. The immense fiend let out a deep throated bellow of pain as the disgusting fluid continued to run like a river out of it side, forming a diminutive pool of it no more that a foot away from the sixteen year old guardian. '_Why do things here have to get more and more disgusting as I continue to travel with Yuna?_' The teen thought in repugnance as the colossal slug like fiend rounded toward her, almost knocking her over then almost dripping a huge drop of cloudy white saliva on her.

The massive slug like fiend cocked its colossal head back just as it did before obliterating the domed, metallic structure, almost sending another drop of saliva onto Lauren as it did so. Without a second's delay, the immense slug-like fiend brought its massive flower bud like beak down upon the plot of golden sand where the blonde teen stood. The sixteen-year-old guardian dove out of the way of the fiend's immensely powerful flower bud like beak, allowing it to harmlessly burry itself into the scorching hot sands of the desert. The blonde guardian, taking this opportunity, thrust her katana in both hands into the slug like fiend's flesh where it head should have been if it was any normal creature. The fiend let out a muffled deep-throated bellow of anguish as it unburied is flower bud like beak, lifting the blonde, who still had her katana stuck in its flesh and still gripping to its hilt, into the air. '_This is going to hurt._' The blonde guardian thought as the fiend flicked it massive head like entity to the left in an attempt to remove the troublesome blonde from flesh. Successful in its attempt, the enormous slug like fiend let out a queer sounding bellow whilst the blonde guardian sailed through the air until she came into contact with the golden sand that surrounded her about forty feet way from the immense fiend.

For some reason unknown to Lauren the golden sand that should have cushioned her fall actually felt more like it did more damage to her back than if she had landed on a rock. Trying desperately to get back up, the blonde teen attempted to flip over onto her stomach so she could push herself up just as if she were doing a pushup, but her body wouldn't listen to the commands that her brain sent it. The massive slug like fiend lurched toward the blonde guardian in its normal slow, leisurely pace as she continued frantically in an attempt to get herself up off the sand before the fiend came into range of attack. Still the sixteen year old guardian's body would not cooperate with the orders her brain was sending it at a now hurried pace causing her to start to panic and fear for her life. The enormous fiend now loomed overhead and reared its colossal head back, poising it for a devastating strike that would finish off its quarry in one fatal blow, crushing her bones into dust. The slug like fiend catapulted its flower bud like beak down upon the trembling blonde teen, but suddenly came to a halt in its attack and let out a moan of pain as its head went back to its normal position.

"Lauren!" Rikku and Tidus hollered in unison at their friend, Lulu, Wakka and Kimahri following close behind the two athletic blondes toward the injured teen. The party of five soon reached the sixteen-year-old guardian that was sprawled out on the golden sand basking in the midday sun, paralyzed. Rikku and Tidus took their spots next to their injured blonde friend on either side of her and knelt down to see if she was alright. Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri stood back a little and did not kneel down a their friend's side, but instead turned their focus from their friends and onto the massive slug like fiend looming in front of them to keep it from attacking the incapacitated blonde. The slug like fiend let out another bellow of anguish as a sound of a puncture wound to the its supple flesh and then a tearing noise sounded with a faint splattering right after. Kimahri plunged a newly acquired lance into the violet colored gill like slits on the slug like fiend's front side causing gagging noises to erupt from the depths of its deep throat. The immense fiend let out one final deep throated bellow of anguish before its colossal bent back head collapsed onto the golden sand in front of it, almost crushing the mighty Ronso guardian, the black mage, and the orange haired blitzer in the process.

As the massive slug like fiend's flesh began to melt away into pyreflies Auron stepped in from behind the spores of multihued lights. The legendary guardian strode into a standing position a few feet way from where Lauren lay sprawled out on the golden sand, still unable to move. "Get up and let's get going." The one eyed guardian commanded to the incapacitated blonde teen sprawled out on the scorching golden sand. The teen shot him an angry look that said 'can't you see I can't get up?' before he moved on to say something to Rikku, who was standing to his right about a foot away from him. "Do you have any anti-paralyzing medicine?" The adolescent Al Bhed nodded in agreement before she rifled through the various pouches strung around her waist, looking for the right vial that would cure the sixteen-year-old guardian of her ailments. A moment later the blonde Al Bhed produced a clear green vial and popped the porous cork resting in the top of the vial. The adolescent Al Bhed lifted up her friend's head up so that she could drink the healing potion and then tipped the green lucid vial upside down, the contents pouring into the injured teen's mouth and trickling down her esophagus.

"Can you move now, Lauren?" Rikku queried as the last drop of the healing elixir passed out of the emerald lucid vial and down the sixteen-year-old guardian's throat. The blonde teen sent a command from her brain to her body to get up onto her feet and this time, unlike moments before, her body obliged with a slight pain creeping up her calves.

"I guess so." Lauren stated as she walked around a bit, stiffly, trying to see if she could get out all the stiffness that she felt while she was standing up. "Thanks, Rikku." The blonde teen stretched out her back by leaning as far back as she could and then stretched her legs by touching her toes with a wince of pain. "Hey, where's Yuna?" The sixteen-year-old guardian inquired as she got a crick out of her neck whilst noticing the honey brown haired summoner's absence.

"We don't know…" Tidus admitted whilst lowering his head in both shame as failing as her guardian and also sorrow for she was becoming more than just a summoner to him. "When I came to I was alone and then Auron and Lulu showed up but they didn't see her anywhere. Then we found Wakka and then moved on to where we found Kimahri trying to walk up a sand dune." The blonde blitz ace explained how they had gotten to this point and was about to go on when Rikku butted into the conversation.

"Then they found me!" Rikku chimed in, in her usual upbeat voice as she practically leapt into the air in excitement that was almost always evident on her face. "Then we went looking for you, Lauren. Good thing we found you now, too, or else you would have been in some real trouble." The sixteen-year-old guardian winced at the thought of what would have happened to her if her friends had not showed up when they did.

"So where are we anyway?" Lauren finally voiced the question that had lurked in her mind ever since she had awoken in the underground river and gotten to the surface. "And how did we get here? I mean we were in the bottom of a lake and now we're in the middle of a desert. It just doesn't make any sense to me." The blonde teen queried as well as elaborated on just how confused she felt at the moment about how her and her friends had gotten here.

"We're on Bikanel Island. There's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here." Rikku explained their location and went on to tell Lauren how exactly she knew where they were. "And I think Yunie might be there! Some other Al Bhed probably rescued her and took her to Home." The adolescent Al Bhed's words brought a slight joy to the sixteen-year-old guardian's face that Yuna is probably safe and sound at what the Al Bhed call Home.

"Okay, then what are we sticking around here for?" Lauren voiced a question that wasn't really meant to be answered before she strode over to Rikku and placed a hand on the adolescent Al Bhed's right shoulder. "Led the way, Rikku!" Before the sixteen-year-old guardian could remove her right hand from her friend's shoulder, the blonde Al Bhed whirled around and took off in a direction that seemed to be random. "Hey! Wait up, Rikku!" The blonde teen shouted to her jogging friend as she took off to follow her closely, leaving their other friends to catch up to the two running blondes at their own pace.

The group of seven guardians continued to follow the seemingly obscure path that Rikku had taken off on for some time now. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since Lauren had joined up with her friends and everyone was getting a bit exhausted and were sweating a considerable amount in the extreme heat of the day. Lauren, being the only one of the group not used to traveling a lot without rest, was lagging behind the rest of the group, her footsteps dragging a bit in the golden sand. '_Why does doing anything here require so much physical endurance?_' The blonde teen thought whilst her vision grew a little bit hazy and her head began to throb under the intense sunlight beating down upon her. '_I sure hope Yuna's at the Al Bhed Home place and that she's perfectly fine._' The sixteen-year-old guardian glanced up to see Rikku go running off over the very tip of a sand dune that resided only a few yards from where she stood. '_I really hope she knows where we're going, too, or else we could be in some serious trouble. I also hope this Home place has air conditioning._' The blonde guardian peeked up through a few locks of golden blonde hair with her turquoise eyes to hear the adolescent Al Bhed that had gone of the tip of the sand dune only seconds before cry something out.

Snapping out of her dazed state, Lauren hastily took off over the sand dune just as she heard Rikku's cry of horror from the other side. Upon running over the peak of the dune and next to the adolescent Al Bhed, the sixteen-year-old guardian gazed down at the sight that lay before the two blondes. There was a gigantic city like structure down about four hundred yards away from the blonde guardians sitting in the middle of the desert. Thick black smoke poured out of a bunch of the buildings that made up the city as massive explosions were set off by an unknown adversary assailing the Al Bhed home. Large fiends with colossal wingspans and gargantuan sized yellow eyes circled through the air surrounding the now broken and burning city. Gunshots, as well as cries of bloody murder erupted from the battered Al Bhed city as the rest of the group finally made it up to the sand dune to witness the events taking place.

A massive explosion rocked the battle worn Al Bhed home sending razor sharp pieces of metal sailing through the air in all directions. "I'm so sorry, Rikku." Were all the words that Lauren could say to her Al Bhed friend as her home was being obliterated in front of her jade eyes. The adolescent Al Bhed said nothing in return to the sixteen-year-old statement, but instead took off at a sprinting pace in the direction of her smoldering home. "Wait, Rikku!" Lauren hollered to her Al Bhed friend that was rocketing away from her and down to the battle-enveloped city.

Rikku ran out into the middle of the entrance courtyard of her home where nothing but death and chaos stirred around her. The blonde Al Bhed shot glances filled with terror and distress around the death filled courtyard until a dying Al Bhed man caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. "Keyakku! Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui? (Who did this to you?)" The adolescent Al Bhed pleaded to the dying man to tell her who was destroying the home that she had known since childhood.

"Yevon... Guado..." Keyakku managed to utter before his body went limp on the ground, his right arm folded across a wound in his abdomen.

"Keyakku? Keyakku!" Rikku cried as the Al Bhed man lay still right in front of her while sounds of utter chaos whirled around her. Lauren caught up to the mourning adolescent Al Bhed a few seconds later and placed a comforting hand on her friend's left shoulder but didn't say anything, for the words would not come to her.

Seconds later the rest of the group caught up with Lauren and Rikku and gazed about it awe at the destruction the Al Bhed city had sustained. "A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" Lulu wondered aloud as she glanced around at the destruction and chaos around her with her garnet colored eyes in astonishment.

"Dryd ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra summoner. (That is wrong! Guado go

for the summoner.)" A tall Al Bhed man corrected the black mage as he stalked in from behind the group with a grim expression apparent on his face. He was bald and was clad in a yellow and dark tan colored jumpsuit with goggles resting right under his chin just as Rikku had strung around her neck.

"Vydran... (Father...)" Rikku whispered to the man as he strode over and reached down at Keyakku's dead body and placed his right hand on the man's neck, looking for any signs of a pulse. Upon receiving no signs of the Al Bed man's heartbeat or breathing, the bald Al Bhed shook his head and stood back up and glanced at Rikku and then at her friends.

"You Rikku's friends?" The man glanced around at everyone, stopping a few more seconds in his glancing at Lauren who looked completely out of place to him. Everyone nodded to the bald Al Bhed's inquiry causing him to give a slight nod in acceptance before he spoke again. "Well, just don't stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our Home!" He exclaimed, taking off toward the entrance to the battle wracked Al Bhed city without waiting for them to follow him.

"Who was that, Rikku?" Lauren queried after the bald Al Bhed had left to go try to fight back against the Guado that were assailing their home.

"Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed..." Rikku explained who the mysterious bald Al Bhed man was in a soft, depressed voice that was hard to hear of the sounds of intense battle raging around them. "He's my dad." The adolescent Al Bhed admitted, still in the same low voice she had used to explain who the man was causing the sixteen-year-old guardian's turquoise eyes to light up surprise.

"Wow, he's your dad?" Lauren inquired in an astounded voice that could be barely heard over the screams and gunshots encircling her and her friends. Rikku nodded to the sixteen year old guardian's question but still didn't say a word, her usually exuberant jade swirl eyes filled with grief and fear. "Well, then shouldn't we go help him and the rest of your people out?" The blonde guardian unsheathed her katana with a hasty swooshing sound and stood in a position showing that she was ready for just about anything to ahead of her.

"Right!" Rikku agreed, shooting up onto her feet, a friendly and thankful smile painted on her face as she looked over at Lauren. "Thanks, Lauren. We gotta go and help out pops and the rest of my people!" The adolescent Al Bhed drew out her fist blades and took off toward the entrance to the AL Bhed city at an unimaginable speed. Lauren and the rest of the blonde Al Bhed's friends took off after her through the death filled courtyard and through the door leading into the broken city.

Inside the Al Bhed city stood a huge domed chamber that held a concrete path leading up into a rather large circle that broke off into three different paths. One of the paths was severed off by what appeared to have been debris falling down from the roof and landing upon it, cracking it and utterly destroying it. The second and center path led off to a metallic door that was cracked open a few inches at the bottom but the top was still sealed shut with sparks flying from it. The third and final path led to an opening that ran down a flight of stairs deeper into the constructs of the tattered Al Bhed metropolis. Rikku ran right to the center of the large circle that sat in the middle of the domed room and stopped for a few seconds, glancing around at the devastation done to the inside of her home. The ceiling above the blonde Al Bhed made a loud snapping sound causing her to gawk up at the domed ceiling to see that it was coming down upon her as she looked. The adolescent Al Bhed dove to the right of where she was standing as the ceiling caved in on the spot where she had been standing just seconds before. The mass cluster of debris struck the concrete floor with force enough to crush practically anything that stood in its path. The floor gave way under the immense pressure placed upon it by the ceiling rubble causing a small crater to form out of the smoldering ruins.

"Rikku, are you alright?" Lauren hollered over the sounds of gunshots and chaotic explosions to her blonde Al Bhed friend upon noticing the collapsed ceiling and her friend in a crouched position as if she had just narrowly escaped it. For a few seconds the adolescent Al Bhed didn't respond to her friend's concern filled inquiry, just staring at the ruble she had managed to scarcely escape.

"Yeah, Lauren." Rikku finally answered her blonde friend's query whilst getting back up onto her shaky feet and glancing over toward the only path that remained. "This way, guys!" The blonde Al Bhed waved for her friends to follow her right before she took off toward the only undamaged path that led down a small ramp. The adolescent Al Bhed's friends followed suit only seconds after she had ran off through the doorway and onto the ramp.

As she came down the ramp, Lauren noticed Rikku frozen in place at the bottom of the ramp and prepared herself for battle. The sixteen-year-old guardian arrived at her Al Bhed friend's side and gazed ahead to see exactly why her friend had stopped. A massive gray skinned, dual horned fiend stood before the two blondes mutilating an Al Bhed corpse by both devouring it and ripping it asunder with its powerful paws. Crimson colored blood dripped from the dual horned fiend's fangs as well as was splattered all over the walls of the corridor. With a slight tug with its massively powerful paws, the fiend tore the Al Bhed corpse in half casting a plume off crimson blood rocketing toward the two on looking blondes. The two blonde teens forced themselves to either side, letting the spray of crimson colored blood splatter all over the floor and walls behind them. The two teens gazed back at the massive, dual horned fiend, only to see it gobble down the rest of the mutilated corpse in its colossal jaws. The two blondes shuddered in disgust at the sight they had just beheld; however, they were ripped from their states of sheer disgust at a thunderous, deep-throated roar from the fiend.

The dual horned fiend charged at Lauren and Rikku at a surprisingly fast speed that caught the two blonde teens off guard. The two teen guardians leapt back up the small ramp about a foot or two allowing the rather large fiend to slam into the doorway where the ramp entered the lower level. The dual horned fiend let out a deep-throated bellow and removed its head from benign the only thing in the ramp passageway. The fiend glared at the two blondes on the ramp with its murderous yellow eyes as it backed up about five feet from the entrance for the ramp. It let out a low roar that seemed to be like it was challenging the two blonde guardians to come and fight it head on. Lauren glanced over at Rikku causing the adolescent Al Bhed to glance back and then nod in acceptance to whatever the sixteen-year-old guardian had planned. Suddenly, the two blondes rocketed out of the ramp passageway and out into the larger corridor where the dual horned fiend awaited their arrival.

Lauren charged up the right flank of the fiend while Rikku took the left flank and surrounded the dual horned fiend, each of its two demonic yellow eyes fixed on either of the blondes. The sixteen-year-old guardian skidded around behind the rather large fiend whilst the adolescent Al Bhed stuck more to the front of it in an attempt to flank it. Unfortunately for the two blondes, the dual horned fiend lashed out at the blonde Al Bhed with its front right powerful paw as it brought its tail around to whack the sixteen-year-old guardian. Rikku, being the agile teen that she was, escaped the commanding swipes of the fiend's right paw but Lauren wasn't so lucky in her endeavors. The powerful tail of the dual horned fiend slammed into her side as she attempted to leap back to elude the commanding blow. She was sent sailing through the narrow corridor air until she came into contact with the metallic wall just to her left only a few feet away from where she had been standing. Upon striking the hard metallic ground, the blonde teen shot back up onto her feet, only to receive a sharp pain jutting up from her gun causing her to double over in pain.

Rikku, seeing that Lauren wasn't in the condition to fight at the moment, quickly made an attempt to get the dual horned fiend to only focus on her. The blonde Al Bhed swiped the massive fiend across the face with her fist blades, leaving two trails of crimson streaked blood on the beast's face. The fiend let out a deep-throated cry of anguish as it batted at the agile Al Bhed teen with both its colossal paws. The adolescent Al Bhed hastily evaded the tow strikes and rounded back around for another pass at the fiend. As she charged at the fiend, the blonde rifled through one of the diminutive pouches lashed to her waist, trying to find an item that would end this battle quickly. Her fingers fell around something small, oval in shape and chilled metallic and gripped it tightly whilst withdrawing it from its pouch. The dual horned fiend lashed out with its massive, blood soaked jaws just to receive a special gift from the running Al Bhed instead of her flesh. The fiend bit down upon the hard metallic item with the force of great white shark causing whatever it has eaten to detonate.

A deafening explosion erupted from within the dual horned fiend's massive jaws that caused both Rikku and Lauren to cover their ears to avoid any damage to them. Scraps of the fiend's flesh shot out in all directions, drenching the metallic flooring and walls in crimson blood as well as splattering a bit on the two blonde teens. What remained of the fiend's body dropped limp to the ground before it began to fade away into the melodic, multihued lights know as pyreflies. The blonde Al Bhed glanced over at her sixteen-year-old friend with a concerned look in her jade swirl eyes. "Lauren, are you okay?" The adolescent Al Bhed queried to her friend that had been hurled against the hard, metallic wall by the dual horned fiend.

"Yeah, but my stomach does hurt a little." Lauren admitted whilst hold her right arm over her abdomen as if she were trying to hold her stomach intact. A few seconds later the two blondes' friends came down the narrow ramp to find them standing around, waiting for them to arrive. "Okay, let's go. We gotta see if we can help these people out!" The sixteen-year-old guardian declared whilst she placed her right hand on Rikku's left shoulder and nodding to her. The two blondes took off down the corridor and made a turn at the next bend, leaving their friends to catch up with them.

After running around battling various fiends and their Guado masters for a while, a voice crackled over an intercom system built into the Al Bhed city. "Drec pedac! Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiend fedh ed! (This bites! Rikku! You read me? You go under too! I am leveling Home! And the fiend with it!)" Cid's voice crackled over the intercom just barely audible over the chaotic sound echoing through the many corridors of the Al Bhed metropolis.

"What did he say, Rikku?" Lauren queried to the adolescent Al Bhed after noticing the upset look on her usually upbeat face.

"We have to get underground!" Rikku blurted out while taking off in a seemingly random direction that apparently led to where Yuan was supposedly being held. After encountering some more fiends and Guado alike, the group came to a stop at the top of a flight of stairs that led down deeper into the constructs of the Al Bhed home.

"This place done for." Wakka shook his head whilst gazing around at the sheer destruction and chaos that the Guado and their fiend pets had done to Rikku's home.

"You're right. You're right, Wakka." Rikku admitted to what the orange haired blitzer had said in a sorrow filled voice, with tears blurring her jade swirl eyes. "We Al Bhed, we...we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. We few put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard; we had our Home back again... But now... Why did things have to turn out this way?" The blonde Al Bhed finished up her summary of a little of the history of her people and ending with a frustrated and sad voice.

"Rikku..." Wakka placed a comforting hand of the blonde Al Bhed's right shoulder as he came close to her. "Damn those Guado! What are they thinking?" The orange haired blitzer cried out as he slammed his right fist into the metallic wall to his right, ignoring the pain that coursed through his hand from the act.

"We have to get going, now!" Auron commanded as he strode off down the flight of metal stairs that sat to the left of the group. Everyone filed in behind the legendary guardian except for Lauren and Rikku, who held back for a few moments.

"Rikku… I'm so sorry." Lauren said in a voice that was both sorrowful and sympathetic whilst placing a comforting hand on the blonde Al Bhed's left shoulder. "I know how it feels to lose something that you love." The sixteen-year-old guardian's turquoise eyes welled up with tears that she had to close her eyes and move back away from her Al Bhed friend to suppress. '_And I always will…_' The blonde guardian thought sorrowfully as her friend walked past her and began to descend the metal stairs.

Lauren went to follow Rikku when an earsplitting creak erupted from the ceiling caused her to stop dead in her tracks and gaze up at the source of the noise. The ceiling let out another piercing groan shot down just as it gave way-sending tons of debris down at the blonde teen. The blonde guardian leapt back about two feet to elude the collapsing ceiling rubble just as it was about to crush her to a blood pulp. The wreckage from the ceiling smashed into the metal staircase, snapping the metallic framework into shards of metal under the pressure of the debris. The sixteen-year-old guardian gawked at the rubble sitting in front of her after it had smashed through the metal staircase, ruining any chance she had at linking up with her friends quickly. The blonde whirled around to see the doorway that she and her friends had come into the chamber, only to see it also collapse in front of her turquoise eyes. The teen pivoted on her heel and gazed through a small crack that allowed her to peer through to see Rikku's face staring back at her.

"Lauren! You have to follow that path over there!" Rikku called out to her blonde friend whilst signaling to go to her right by pointing her finger in that direction. "If you go that way you can meet up with us on the other side of the Summoner's sanctum." The blonde Al Bhed told the sixteen year old guardian where to go and that she would link up with her and the rest of her friends on the other side of where Yuna was mostly likely being held. "Lauren," The adolescent Al Bhed got her friend's attention right as she was about to walk away from the pile of rubble that separated her from her friends. "Be careful." The blonde teen nodded to the young Al Bhed through the tiny hole in the ruins of the flight of stairs before taking off down the path that her friend had told her to use.

Lauren walked down a narrow corridor for some time before she came across something that caused her heart to sink. "Not another dead end…" The blonde teen came to a halt no more that a few feet in front of a wall of debris that barred her path from getting back to her friends. "How am I supposed to get back to Rikku and the others at this rate?" The sixteen-year-old guardian pondered out loud to herself whilst scanning the chamber around her for another route to get back to all her friends.

"You won't have to worry about that in a few minutes." A strange yet familiar female voice echoed through the tattered chamber causing Lauren to glance around frantically trying to locate the source of the voice. "Don't worry. I will not make you suffer… too badly." Nora dropped out of an air duct, her purple hair flowing up behind her as she plummeted to the ground lightly. As soon as the amethyst haired teen landed on the ground with a soft thud, she whipped out her dual dragon hilted daggers and twirled them in between her fingers.

"You!" Lauren shouted out sheer surprise at Nora as she stood only fifteen feet away from her with her twin daggers thirsting for some blood. "Why didn't you tell me Brian was at Macalania temple with Seymour and had lost all his memories!" The blonde teen screamed at the amethyst haired dagger wielder with more than a little bit of anger apparent in her voice as it echoed through the otherwise silent chamber.

"What are you talking about!" Nora retorted in a voice that held even more anger and confusion than that of Lauren's as she fell into a battle ready position. Her emerald eyes were filled with hatred toward the blonde teen for spreading what she had thought were lies about her brother. "Brian died over a year ago! You should know that more than anyone!" The purpled haired assassin shouted at the sixteen-year-old guardian with such passionate rage that it almost scared the blonde.

"Brian is alive here, on Spira!" Lauren hollered at Nora with tears beginning to well up in her turquoise eyes, noting the still furious look in the amethyst haired teen's eyes. "He's alive here, but that creep Seymour and his master stole away his memories! He didn't even remember me…" The blonde teen's voice trailed off as she attempted to hold back her tears remembering everything that had happened back in the Macalania temple.

"What!" Nora yelled back at Lauren with a voice that both expressed complete and utter confusion as well as anger, recalling just who exactly Seymour's master was. "But… Mika didn't say anything about my brother being alive. That old son of a…!" The amethyst haired teen shook all over with anger that the one she was working under didn't tell her that her brother was alive here.

"You mean you've been working with the guy who did this to Brian!" Lauren's voice was filled with utter astonishment at how Nora could be so unperceptive and have fallen right into the old Maester's hands. "And you didn't even know! Wow, you've got to be really stupid to work with someone like him!" The sixteen-year-old guardian mocked the amethyst haired teen's intelligence causing even more anger to well up in her emerald eyes and on her face.

"That does it!" Nora screamed at the top of her lungs whilst she charged up at Lauren, her twin dragon hilted daggers twirling around in between her fingers at her sides and back behind her back. "I'm not going to stand her and let you mock me!" The amethyst haired teen shouted as she opened up the battle between her and the sixteen-year-old guardian with a few rapid slashes with her twin daggers at the blonde's chest. The blonde guardian fell back, giving her enough time to draw her katana up in front of her to block all the remaining blows from her infuriated assailant.

Lauren brought her katana around in front of her and to the right in a small arch level with Nora's neck in an attempt to behead her assailant. The amethyst haired teen bent back both her head and her back, allowing the blonde teen's katana swipe to go over her head harmlessly. The blonde teen followed up her ineffective blow by bringing her katana down in a diagonal slash that went from right to left across her purple haired adversary's torso. The emerald eyed teen leapt back away from the sixteen-year-old guardian's downward diagonal slash, narrowly escaping its deadly bite. The tip of the blonde teen's katana's blade almost buried itself into the fractured flooring under foot but she stopped it with a quick jerk of her arm and flick of her right wrist. Both the amethyst haired teen and the blonde haired guardian fell back from each other after the blonde's last blade stroke into battle ready stances.

Nora lashed out with her twin dragon hilted daggers at Lauren by jabbing her right one at the blonde's stomach while brining around the dagger in her left hand across her enemies chest. The blonde teen was about to leap back and bend her gut back while leaning forward but stopped when she noted her assailant's second dagger coming across her chest line. The sixteen-year-old guardian brought her katana up from her left side in her right hand, across her upper body in an attempt to knock away both daggers in one move. The blonde guardian shut her turquoise eyes tightly whilst she brought her katana across her upper body until she heard the sound of metal on metal resonating to her right. She opened her turquoise eyes hastily to see that her blocking attempt was a success and had knocked away the amethyst teen's dual curved bladed daggers. The sudden deflection caused the emerald-eyed teen to stumble to her left as her daggers were almost torn from her hands by the force of her adversary's defensive blow.

Regaining her footing, Nora pushed off of the splintered flooring with her right foot sending her rocketing toward Lauren at a speed that the blonde hadn't seen her use in their last clash. Instead of going for two separate targets to catch her enemy off guard, the amethyst haired teen planned an attack as she charged the blonde teen before her that would bring both of her dragon hilted daggers down upon her opponent's head. The teen's emerald eyes fixed themselves upon the sixteen-year-old guardian's blonde lock covered head as she neared her. The amethyst haired assassin brought both of her curved blade daggers down upon the blonde teen's head as she came to a sliding halt a mere foot away from the blonde. The sound of metal on metal resonated from the point on the blonde guardian's katana's blade where the emerald-eyed teen's dual daggers struck. The two teens muscled for control over the momentum of the attack, their footings slipping every second under each other's force.

Seeing that she couldn't just muscle her way through Lauren's defenses, Nora shifted her right leg back, giving her more stability as well as setting her up for her next move. With a slight angered cry, the amethyst haired teen brought her right leg around along the ground trained on her blonde adversary's left calf. Her emerald eyes dropped down from where her dual curved bladed daggers struck her opponent's katana blade down to where her leg was going to connect with the blonde teen's left leg. The attack connected to the sixteen year old guardian's left calf with a softened thud causing her to lose her balance. The blonde guardian felt her right leg get taken out from under her just as her left did by the same strike with the same momentum. The blonde teen collapsed to the floor with a softened thud, her katana rattling off out of her right hand and across the cracked floor to come to rest two feet out of her reach. The amethyst haired assassin loomed overhead of the blonde as she tried to get back upon her feet but was stopped by her adversary's foot pressing her face into the ground violently.

"I must say you haven't gotten any better since the first time I fought you." Nora chuckled a bit to herself as she tried to belittle Lauren as much as humanly possible before finishing her off. "Now, I'm going to finish you off nice and slow so you have time to think things through and suffer emotionally as much as you do physically." The amethyst haired teen placed both of her dragon hilted daggers on either side of her blonde captive's neck, sliding them together against her jugular vein. The chill metal against her flesh as well as pricking at her throat caused the sixteen-year-old guardian to flinch, almost slitting her own throat. "Calm down. You'll kill yourself if you keep doing that. And we wouldn't want you to go without suffering first." The teen's emerald eyes seemed to well up with pleasure as she gazed down upon the captured blonde guardian that was trying as hard as she could to not move, fearing that she would end her own life.

'_How am I gonna get out of this?_' Lauren thought to herself while continuing trying not to move as much as possible, the twin curved bladed daggers still pressed against her throat. The blonde shifted her turquoise eyes around desperately trying to find a way that she could escape the death lock that her assailant had her in. The blonde guardian tilted her head a little on the side, just enough to see above her out of the corner of her eyes but not so much that she would slit her own throat. The air right above the sixteen-year-old guardian was free of anything that would bar her path if she made an attempt to get off the ground in a hurry. '_I hope this works._' The blonde thought as she placed her open palmed hands out of the ground to her sides, poising her muscles to push her up off the ground hurriedly. Nora glanced down at her captive but did not notice the fact that she was planning an escape from her seemingly inescapable lock with her twin dragon hilted daggers.

Lauren bent her arms slightly at the elbows and then pushed off the ground as if she were doing a push up, catching Nora off guard. The blonde teen shot up through the air and back up onto here feet, striking the amethyst haired teen in the face with her left elbow. The emerald-eyed teen fell back, covering her nose with her right hand whilst still keeping a tight hold on her twin dragon hilted daggers in her left hand. The blonde guardian took the opportunity of her assailant not being able to retaliate and swept her legs out from under her with one fell swoop of her right leg. The amethyst haired teen tumbled down on her right side, smacking her right hip and then the right side of her head on the fractured ground. The sixteen-year-old guardian took off toward her katana that was ripped from her grip only a moment ago and had skidded two feet away from her position. The blonde reached her katana in a matter of seconds and reached down, wrapping her slender fingers around the clothed hilt, continuing her pace as she went. The blonde came to a sliding halt only a foot away from where her katana lay, falling into a battle ready stance, drawing her katana back up next to the right side of her head.

"You will pay of your treachery!" Nora shot furiously at Lauren after recovering from the blond to the nose the blonde teen had dealt to her. The amethyst haired teen took her daggers back into their respective hands, charging at the blonde guardian at lighting fast speeds. The emerald-eyed teen leapt into the air about three feet from the blonde haired teen, extending her right leg into a dropkick position. The blonde guardian was just about to side step her assailant's blow when she changed positions whilst in the air and hurled one of her curve bladed daggers at the blonde. After seeing her assailant's adjust her attack, the sixteen year old guardian dove to her left just in the nick of time to evade the dragon hilted dagger from burrowing itself into her heart. Unfortunately, the curve bladed dagger was traveling at speeds too swift for the blonde to evade entirely causing it to cut her right arm at the elbow. The teen's turquoise eyes shot down at the sharp stinging sensation that was exploded of the tip of her right elbow to see that her adversary's dagger had left a cut. The cut ran the entire length of her right elbow and also went a few inches up her upper arm, dripping crimson blood from the wound onto the ground below.

Lauren held her injured right elbow with her left hand, trying to stop the bleeding whilst still gripping her katana's clothed hilt securely with her right hand. Nora, who had landed just about two feet behind the blonde haired teen, retrieved the dragon hilted dagger that she had thrown. The sixteen-year-old guardian stood up from her crouched position and stood back upon her feet whilst turning to face her assailant. The amethyst haired teen lunged forward, extending both her arms forward, daggers in hand, at the blonde guardian that stood no more than two feet in front of her. The sixteen year old guardian leapt to the left to elude the deadly two pronged thrust and countered by bringing her katana blade down upon her adversary's outstretched arms. The emerald-eyed teen retracted her arms instantaneously, evading the blonde's counter attack whilst also leaping back another foot to get herself out of her enemies' range of attack. The two teens locked eyes for a moment whilst circling around each other silently for about twenty seconds before either one of them made a move.

Lauren charged forward toward Nora hastily, coming to a stop roughly a foot and a half in front of the amethyst haired teen. The blonde teen brought her katana down upon the emerald-eyed assassin's head, trying to cleave her in two with one fell strike. The amethyst haired teen flung her arms up over her head, brining her twin dragon hilted daggers together to form a small 'X' as a shield against the blonde's attack. The sound of metal on metal rang out, echoing off the hollowed walls of the broken down chamber, ringing in the two teen's ears for sometime. The blonde guardian pressed down upon her opponent's defenses with both arms whilst with all the strength she could possibly muster at the moment. The amethyst haired assassin, bending then subsequently straightening her knees, forced back against her attacker's strength with all her strength as well as with the momentum from her bending. The blonde haired teen's katana was flung back through the air over her head causing her to stumble backward from the sudden counter push from her assailant.

Nora, using the time that she had acquired by knocking back her foe, flung out her left leg right at the same level as Lauren's stomach. The blow connected with the blonde teen's abdomen with a softened thud sending her back onto her back a few feet from where she was standing only seconds before. The amethyst haired teen's blow knocked the wind out of the sixteen-year-old guardian causing her to gasp desperately for air. The blonde's lungs burned as her brain screamed for oxygen whilst she groped around for a grip on the shattered flooring on which to get up on. The emerald-eyed teen strode over to where her adversary lay, gasping for air, and juts stood over top of her, staring down with a menacing look imbedded in the center of her eyes. The amethyst haired assassin flung her right foot out, striking the blonde teen on the broken up floor in her gut. The blonde guardian doubled over in pain on the ground from the force of both kicks taken to her stomach.

Standing over her opponent with a blood lust look in her emerald eyes, Nora raised her dual dragon hilted daggers above her incapacitated enemy's head. Realizing that her assailant was standing above her with her twin curve bladed daggers poised over her head, Lauren tried to recompose herself through the burning agony of having no oxygen in her lungs. The amethyst haired teen brought her twin dragon hilted daggers down upon the blonde guardian's head at hyper speeds that were barely visible. The blonde teen clenched her turquoise eyes tightly whilst screaming in her brain for her body to move out of the way of the deadly strike. The dual curve bladed daggers were mere inches away from piercing the blonde guardian's temple when the teen managed to roll out of the way of the lethal strike. Upon hearing the pinging of metal on concrete flooring, the sixteen-year-old guardian cautiously opened up her turquoise, but only just a bit. Realizing that her head wasn't impaled to the floor, the blonde teen shot her turquoise eyes open all the way whilst leaping up on her feet.

Recovering from her dual dragon hilted daggers refracting off the cracked and split flooring, Nora fell back into a battle ready stance. Her emerald eyes fixed themselves upon that of Lauren's turquoise ones, hatred and annoyance apparent in deep in her pupils. The blonde teen stared back into the amethyst haired teen's hate filled emerald eyes with her own turquoise ones, but not harboring the same hatred her adversary had toward her. Instead of hateful eyes, the sixteen year old guardian seemed to have eyes filled with a sort of sadness toward the teen standing a mere five feet in front of her. "We don't have to do this anymore, Nora." The blonde teen stated after a few moments of silence between the two teens, her voice soft and had a pleading element to it. "We don't have to keep fighting like this. I know we have our differences, but are they really something to have a fight to the death over?" The rage burning in the amethyst haired teen's emerald eyes seemed to subside, only a little if not all the way at the blonde's pleading words.

"You just don't get it…" Nora said in a slowly saddening voice as she dropped her twin dragon hilted daggers limp to her side whilst lowering her head. "Before Brian went out with you, we used to always talk on the phone or on the computer. We were like the best of friends even though we were already brother and sister. Then you came around and he stopped answering my calls and or said that he had to go somewhere with you. After that, with him gone with you, I didn't really have anyone else to talk too much. You ruined my life," The amethyst haired teen pulled her head back into its upright position, holding back tears that welled up in her emerald eyes. "and I will never forgive you for that!" The amethyst haired assassin's emerald eyes flared up with even more rage toward the blonde than had been apparent when she was glaring at her every time before.

Nora's binary dragon hilted daggers began to glow with a deep black radiance that enshrouded the entire length of each of the foot long, curved blades. After her twin curve bladed daggers resonated for about thirty seconds, the amethyst haired teen bend forward into a ready to charge pose. Seconds later, the emerald-eyed teen pushed off of the fractured flooring with her sending her rocketing toward Lauren at speeds only fathomable from that of a cheetah. The blonde teen hauled her katana up in front of her, preparing for the imminent lighting fast strikes from her assailant. The amethyst haired teen, charging toward the sixteen-year-old guardian at an inconceivable speed, shifted both her arms from their respective sides to her right side as she neared her adversary. The blonde guardian stood fixed in her defensive position with her katana held out in front of her body tilted to the right where her attacker was coming from.

Lauren braced herself for the oncoming high-speed attack by placing her left leg back and cocking her foot whilst bending her right knee. Nora, as soon as she got a foot in front but to her left of the blonde teen, brought both of her twin dragon hilted daggers up in one big swing, brining them up across her body at chest level from her waist. The black glowing blades slammed against the blonde guardian's katana's blade casting a metallic echoing sound throughout the entire broken down chamber. The sixteen-year-old guardian felt herself be pushed back by the incredible amount of momentum behind the astonishing attack from her assailant. At the same time that she felt being pushed back by the swift blow, the blonde teen felt herself spin around to face the direction that her adversary was heading in. After striking at the blonde guardian once, the amethyst haired teen made a small arched turn leading her on the opposite side of her quarry. Her emerald eyes shot wide in astonishment when she saw the sixteen-year-old guardian standing perfectly fine and had even turned around to face her.

Nora charged up and unleashed even more energy upon Lauren in her defensive position that she had in her first blow. The blonde teen merely spun around whilst getting pushed back by the hasty blow, just as she had by the first one. The amethyst haired teen arched back once again and came in at an even swifter pace and summoned all of her strength into her arms. Her emerald eyes shot wide in terror as she brought up her binary dragon hilted daggers, but caused no damage to her adversary as far as she could tell. '_How can she be blocking all of my attacks when I know I can beat her?_' The amethyst haired assassin thought as she rounded about for yet another attempt in shattering the blonde haired guardian's defenses. '_This just makes no sense! It's just like after she came back from being dead… she was a whole new fighter than and it seems like she is now._' Her emerald eyes were now filled with fright more than they were filled with the anger she had harbored in her eyes moments before.

'_How am I doing this?_' Lauren pondered as she parried yet another hasty, powerful blow from Nora with her twin curve bladed daggers. '_I guess if I can do this I can end this fight now, too._' The blonde teen thought whilst being spun around by another of her assailant's deadly quick strikes. Seeing a window of opportunity whilst the amethyst haired teen was arching back around, the sixteen-year-old guardian took it, positioning her katana more upright than leaning right. As the emerald eyed teen charged in at her, the blonde guardian brought her feet together to give her more balance and a way to back up from what she was about to do next. The amethyst haired assassin brought her twin dragon hilted daggers up in their usual swinging pattern, expecting to hit her quarry's katana blade; however, it did not go how she expected it to.

Lauren swung her katana up right under her assailant's daggers, carrying them upward harmlessly instead of striking her in the abdomen. With that element of her plan a success, the blonde teen followed through with the next portion of her plan to end the fray between her and Nora. The sixteen year old guardian flung her right foot outward into the amethyst haired teen's path, ripping her legs right out from under her as she rushed forward. Whilst bringing her right leg back close to the rest of her body, the blonde guardian hopped back on her left leg, bringing her back to about where it had stood seconds before. The amethyst haired teen plummeted through the small amount of air that posed itself in front of her whilst wordlessly cursing at her opponent. Upon striking the shattered flooring with her face, the emerald-eyed assassin's grip around the dragon hilted dagger in her left hand was wrenched away. The specialized dagger clanged along the ground for a few feet before finally coming to a halt no more than five feet out of her reach.

Walking toward her downed opponent, Lauren shifted her katana into her left hand for the pain erupting from the wound on her right elbow was starting to become unbearable to hold her weapon properly. Nora, gripping her remaining dagger firmly, shifted her head so that she could now stare up at the blonde teen, who was drawing ever closer to her. The amethyst haired teen let a condescending smile slip across her face whilst she gazed at the sixteen-year-old guardian striding toward her. Whilst stretching out her right arm, the emerald-eyed assassin flipped her dagger around so that the curved blade was facing downward in her hand. Once her adversary stood only a foot from her, the downed assassin ripped her right arm off the ground whilst poising it in front of her assailant's right thigh. With a brutal strike, the amethyst haired teen plunged her curve bladed dagger down into the sixteen-year-old guardian's right thigh with a revolting splat.

Gripping her right thigh tightly, Lauren fell back onto her back out of sheer pain more than the momentum of the blow. Nora's curve bladed dagger stuck into the blonde teen's flesh about three inches of the blade, crimson colored blood streaking all over her right leg. The amethyst haired teen withdrew her dragon hilted dagger with another sickening squishing sound and went to rise to her feet when she was caught by something. The blonde haired teen muscled through the immense pain jutting up from the three inch puncture wound in her right thigh, managing to lash out at her assailant with her katana. The chilled metal of the katana's blade bit into the amethyst haired assassin's warm flesh on her abdomen. The razor sharp blade carved a relatively deep gash into the assassin's stomach, reopening the wound that she has sustained in the teens' last confrontation. Both of the teens' eyes filled with black haziness whilst they fell flat on the floor, crimson blood spilling out all over the ripped asunder flooring. Compete and total darkness flooded the blonde teen's turquoise eyes first, the amethyst haired assassin's emerald ones following momentarily.

Both Lauren and Nora lay sprawled out on the shattered flooring, unconscious, as a dark shadow drifted into the chamber through the only doorway leading into the room. "Hmph. These two are completely pathetic." The dark, shadowed figure uttered in a voice low enough that only he could hear himself over the chaotic noises echoing throughout the tattered Al Bhed metropolis. "They can't even handle a long fight against each other. I still don't know why that old man wanted to have her lead the attack on this place. She's too weak to do much of anything. And her… what is the big threat in her? I could easily just have taken her out anytime before this after seeing this pathetic performance. Unfortunately, he wants her alive so I can't do that…" The shadowed figure strode over to where the blonde teen laid unconscious, crimson blood running swiftly out of the dagger wound on her right thigh.

The man bent down over Lauren, a bizarre deep orange aura appearing around his right hand as it appeared out of the shadows. The shadow enshrouded man placed his shadowy hand against the blonde guardian's wound, a bright flash of the deep orange flashed up, illuminating the entire chamber. With that task done, the shadow-cloaked man hauled the unconscious blonde teen upon his right shoulder whilst turning for the door. As he walked past the unconscious form or Nora, the shadow enshrouded man stopped for a split second to hear her moaning slightly. "Sorry little girl, but you are no longer needed. I hope you like dying in big fiery explosions." The cloaked man, showing his true brutality, strode away from the slightly conscious, bleeding the death, amethyst haired teen. The shadow-cloaked man strode through the doorway leading out of the dead end chamber without so much as a second glance back at who he had left behind to die.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and as always, don't forget to read and review!


	11. Bevelle Imprisonment

Chapter Eleven: Bevelle Imprisonment

**Anasazi Darkmoon**: Hey! Thanks a lot for sticking with my fic and being such a cool friend on AIM. I really do look forward to when the little thing tells me that you log on. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter in its twenty seven page entirety.

**dark dragon knight1993**: Hey! I'm glad to hear that you thought last chapter was so cool and that my fight scenes are awesome! This chapter doesn't have that much fighting but it has enough, but don't worry next chapter has I think three major fight scenes in it so next chapter will be mostly fighting! Hey, since you're only twelve that gives you a lot of time in which you can make your writing better. No problem! I like your fic! I really think that you can make it a really good one! Ah, so you take fencing classes? That's freaking AWESOME! I wouldn't mind taking some classes on that but I'm too lazy to do much of anything so… Anyway, sorry for the little bit of a delay on the normal update time for this chapter!

**Brooke**: Ello! Welcome to the fic! I'm very glad you're liking everything and thinking that it's interesting! Well, I hope you continue liking everything!

**Spira's Sentry**: Yo! How's it going man! Welcome back! How was your little trip? Glad to hear that you still love my fic and think that I've added some nice touches to it, I try! Oh, I plan on keeping up the good work, but you tell me if I am or not, 'kay? Hey, I'll get you another reviewer for your sequel! I got one of my friends to read your first fic and she liked it but I don't think she knows about the sequel so I'll let her know when she gets on AIM later. I hope you can update that quickly 'cuz I'm really looking forward to more of your work, man! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and I'll talk to you later!

"Wait up guys!" Rikku hollered to the rest of the group as they hurried away from the doorway that led into the summoner's sanctum. "This is where I said that Lauren would meet up with us!" The blonde Al Bhed explained, standing at the end of a corridor that she now had a slender finger trained on. "We gotta wait for her to meet up with us!" A thunderous explosion followed by a tremendous rumble resonated down the corridor from which the turquoise-eyed teen was supposed to link up with her friends.

"We don't have time to wait for her, Rikku." Tidus turned back to face the adolescent Al Bhed as another deafening explosion erupted from down the corridor where Lauren was supposed to emerge from. "This place is coming down all around us!" The blonde blitz ace yelled over the chaotic noises whirling around him as well as his friends that were present at the time.

"But what if Lauren's just around the corner? If we leave now then she won't be able to catch up with us before we leave." Rikku started down the corridor leading to where Lauren was supposed to be coming from when a firm hand gripped her right shoulder. "Let me go! What if she's hurt and needs our help!" The blonde Al Bhed slapped away the hand upon her right shoulder whilst whipping around and throwing a punch in Auron's face. The one eyed guardian allowed the fist of the adolescent Al Bhed to connect with his face, knocking off his sunglasses in the process.

"You must learn to guard your emotions before you can do anything." Auron stated, snapping his neck back into place from Rikku's strike whilst bending over to retrieve his unharmed sunglasses from the broken flooring. After realizing what she had just done, the blonde Al Bhed flung her jade swirl eyes open in awe, not moving from her position facing the legendary guardian.

"Yeah, Sir Auron is right, Rikku." Wakka chimed in with an upbeat voice instead of the overshadowed with sorrow one he had used only moments before. As he spoke, the orange haired blitzer strode over toward the legendary guardian and blonde Al Bhed standing in front of one another. "Besides, Lauren's probably up ahead already, ya know?" The tan skinned man spoke in a lighthearted voice in an attempt to cheer his friend up and get them moving before the ceiling collapsed on them.

"Wakka could be right for once." Lulu said in her usual monotone voice drawing an angry glare from the orange haired blitzer and a slight chuckle from Tidus. "It is highly possible that one of the other Al Bhed saw her and hurried her along to where we are heading." The black mage's garnet eyes were filled with a sort of comforting aura, the likes of which had never been witnessed by anyone present.

"But what if nobody did find her?" Rikku queried in a voice that both showed her concern for her friend's well being as well as a determination to crack her friends and make them search for Lauren. "That path isn't taken too much. So, what if nobody went down there and found her. She could be trapped under something or caught in a fight where she needs our help, you know?" The blonde Al Bhed whirled around in mid step to face the corridor in question, only to be stopped once again by a hand placed on her right shoulder, only this time, it was a lot gentler.

"Rikku…" Tidus uttered the adolescent Al Bhed's name in a soft, caring voice, removing his left hand from her right shoulder slowly. The blonde turned to face her blitz ace of a friend to see his azure eyes filled with the same concern that her own jade ones harbored. "I want to make sure Lauren isn't hurt down there somewhere just as much as you, but if this whole place comes down on us, we won't be able to save Yuna." The blonde blitz ace stated, trying to sway his friend to his side of thinking by showing that he cared just as much as she did.

"So you're saying we should just abandon her!" Rikku shouted back at Tidus, a single tear streaking down from her left jade swirl eye down along her left cheek. "Some friend you are!" The blonde Al Bhed shouted at the blonde blitz ace, annoyance and distress apparent in her usually exuberant jade eyes.

"I'm not saying we should abandon her, Rikku!" Tidus shot back at the blonde Al Bhed standing before him, a hint of anger in his voice quickly subsiding back to his regular, friendly voice. "We don't even know she's down there anyway. It's not like we know she's down there and needs our help, but we're too heartless to care. For all that we know she's up ahead worrying about us since you made us stop here." The blitz ace's azure eyes harbored a kind of friendliness that seemed to sooth the adolescent Al Bhed as she gazed into them whilst he spoke.

A thunderous explosion followed by a massive splintering noise erupted from the already cracked ceiling above Rikku. The blonde Al Bhed gazed up with her jade swirl eyes into a mass of plummeting ceiling fragments, red-orange flames licking the edges of each and every bit of debris. Shifting his gaze down from the collapsing ceiling to his blonde friend, Tidus bolted for the Al Bhed as hastily as he possibly could. The jade-eyed Al Bhed stood fixed in position, unwavering to everything going on around her, staring intently at the rubble raining down upon her. The blonde blitz ace came to a frantic sliding halt a mere foot from his Al Bhed friend, grasping her right arm tightly in the process. With a mild tug, the blitz ace budged the transfixed Al Bhed, pulling her stumbling out of the way of the falling wreckage. The ruble slammed into the already fractured floor, generating an immense crater in the cement flooring whilst filling up the entire corridor with masses of debris.

Rikku ran over to the newly formed wall of smoldering rubble and pounded on it with a frustration only surpassed by how Tidus reacted back in the summoners' sanctum. The blonde Al Bhed hammered upon the partition of wreckage until her hands hurt too much to do much of anything with them. "Looks like we have only one choice now." Lulu stated, turning away from the adolescent Al Bhed, who had now sunk to the splintered flooring right at the foot of the screen of debris. Wakka, hesitating for a second whilst glancing over at his Al Bhed friend, chased after the leisurely striding black mage. Auron shifted his gaze from that of the now sobbing blonde to the corridor leading to their final destination in the battered Al Bhed city. Unmoving from his sentinel like position, Kimahri seemed as though he was plagued by the thought of abandoning all hope in finding Lauren.

Tidus strode over to Rikku and placed a comforting hand on the sobbing Al Bhed's right shoulder gingerly. "Rikku… we have to leave now or we'll all be buried." The blonde blitz ace, removing his right hand from the blonde's right shoulder, turned and walked away from his friend, leaving her in a slumped over position. "You coming, Rikku?" The blitz ace turned back to face his Al Bhed friend only for a moment to see her nod faintly, beginning to rise to her feet all the while. Gazing back at the barricade of rubble one last time with her jade swirl eyes, the adolescent Al Bhed picked up her pace in following after her blitz ace of a friend, who was only twenty feet from her.

Moments later the group got to their destination, a rather large room with a causeway leading to an opening in the side of an airship. The massive, crimson colored airship bobbed up and down in position as various Al Bhed ran on off using the small causeway linked to the metal platform the group was upon. Rikku ran up to three Al Bhed standing in a small cluster right next to causeway leading up to the crimson airship. "Rao, ryja yho uv oui caah cusauha dryd muugat mega drao teth'd pamuhk rana? (Hey, have any of you seen someone that looked like they didn't belong here?)" The three Al Bhed looked at the blonde with what could only be taken as questioning looks, for each of them had masks of some sort on. "Uha uv so vneahtc. Cra'c ynuiht so yka. Tet oui caa ran? (One of my friends. She's around my age. Did you see her?)" The adolescent Al Bhed gazed at the three Al Bhed with pleading eyes; however they didn't seem to react to her inquiries.

"Fa tet veht cusauha. Cra'c tufh eh uha uv dra nuusc uh dra yencreb, (We did find someone. She's down in one of the rooms on the airship,)" The Al Bhed man to the right of the group spoke up, remembering that they had found someone and took them aboard the colossal crimson airship that sat next to them. Rikku's jade swirl eyes lit up gleefully, preparing to take off at top speed down to where the person the Al Bhed had said was. "pid cra'c bnaddo pyhkat ib. (but she's pretty banged up.)" The Al Bhed man continued on with what he was saying causing the blonde Al Bhed to stop dead in her tracks on the metallic causeway.

"Fryd tu oui sayh 'pyhkat ib'! (What do you mean 'banged up'!)" Rikku shouted at the Al Bhed man, whirling around on her heels, anger welling up in her jade swirl eyes. "Fryd rybbahat du ran! (What happened to her!)" The blonde Al Bhed hollered her query at the Al Bhed man, up on her tiptoes, staring the man right in the eye.

"Famm, fa fana caynlrehk ynuiht vun yho cdnykkmanc frah ouin vydran kyja dra lymm du kad rana, yht drah lysa ibuh dra vymmah cdyenc du dra cissuhanc' cyhldis. Cu, fa duug dra ymdanhyda bydr yht vuiht ran uh dra knuiht yd y tayt aht fedr y caneuic kycr eh ran cdusylr. Ed ymcu ryt caasat mega cra ryt paah drana vun y meddma frema cu fa nicrat ran du drec bmyla icehk yh yen tild cehla ymm udran byccykafyoc fana pmulgat. (Well, we were searching around for any stragglers when your father gave the call to get here, and then came upon the fallen stairs to the summoners' sanctum. So, we took the alternate path and found her on the ground at a dead end with a serious gash in her stomach. It also had seemed like she had been there for a little while so we rushed her to this place using an air duct since all other passageways were blocked.)" The Al Bhed man elaborated on how they found the injured teen and brought her back to the airship for medical attention.

"Femm cra pa ymnekrd? (Will she be alright?)" Rikku inquired to the Al Bhed man that had told her about the rescue of the teen trapped in the collapsing Al Bhed city.

"Cra femm pa, (She will be,)" The Al Bhed spoke in a lighter voice than he had before when he explained what he meant. Rikku's jade eyes filled with an intense relief at the Al Bhed's words, but that relief lessened when the Al Bhed man continued. "pid yd dra susahd cra'c uid lumt yht haatc du nacd ib yvdan frydajan rybbahat du ran. (but at the moment she's out cold and needs to rest up after whatever happened to her.)" The adolescent Al Bhed turned back toward the hovering crimson airship and hurried up the causeway, stopping near the end of it.

"Dryhg oui! (Thank you!)" Rikku hollered back to the Al Bhed man before taking off once again, finally reaching the doorway into the airship.

Rikku rushed through the doorway, ignoring something her father called to her, continuing to hurry to where her friend was supposedly kept. The blonde Al Bhed came upon the metallic crimson door leading to a room being used for medical purposes. She ran in front of the metal door causing it to swoosh open in just enough time to allow her the go rocketing through. The adolescent Al Bhed rushed to a bed where a figure around Lauren's size rested contently under the whit sheets of the medical bed. Coming to a sliding halt at the side of the bed, the Al Bhed gazed down upon the figure in the bed, only to realize something. "This isn't Lauren…" She whispered to herself whilst gazing down upon an amethyst haired teen sleeping peacefully in the white sheeted bed. "That means… Oh no!" The blonde's distraught voice echoed through the many corridors of the crimson colored airship drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Rikku, what's wrong!" Tidus queried in an alarmed voice as he entered the small chamber that was being used as the medical facilities. The blonde blitz ace hurried over to stand next to the adolescent Al Bhed, his field of view shifted from his friend to the bed she was staring at. "Who's that?" The blonde's azure eyes connected with the sleeping form of the amethyst haired teen in the bed in front of him.

"This is who that guy was talking about…" Rikku's voice lowered as she spoke until it trailed off into silence after the last word passed over her lips. "He was talking about whoever this is… not Lauren…" The blonde Al Bhed collapsed to her knees, all the while tears streaking out of her jade swirl eyes and down her chilled cheeks.

"That means… Lauren's…" Tidus' voice trailed off, not wanting to articulate his thoughts into words for they would just be too hard to swallow. "No! She can't be dead! I can feel that she's still alive… Can't you, Rikku?" The blonde blitz ace's azure eyes meet with the adolescent Al Bhed's jade swirl ones in a brace that neither of them wanted to let go of.

"You're right, Tidus. I can feel, deep in my heart, that she isn't dead." Rikku held back her sobs to speak in a clear and definite voice, continuing to gaze into the blonde blitz ace's azure eyes for solace. "But where could she be?" The adolescent Al Bhed's inquiry was cut off by her father's gruff voice over the crackling speaker system.

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The darkness surrounding her soon gave way to a light shade of gray as her senses flooded back to her in one swift pulse. Fluttering her turquoise eyes open cautiously, Lauren began to stir, the light flooding her field of view blinding her temporarily from being unconscious so long. The transitory blindness gone, the blonde teen propped herself up by her arms to get her head off the chilled metallic surface she had laid upon whilst unconscious. She glanced around at her surroundings with shock and terror to realize that she was in a gigantic bird cage. Glancing over the very edge of the metallic rim of the cage, the blonde guardian propelled herself back away from it upon noting that she was suspended over nothingness. '_I hate heights!_' She thought angrily as she peered around at the rest of her surroundings with curiosity in her eyes just as much as fear of not knowing where she was. "Where am I?" She wondered aloud to her self, only to get scared half to death when someone answered her in a soft, female voice.

"You're in the dungeon in Bevelle." The soft female voice replied to Lauren's inquiry as if it were nothing more than a simple question like, 'what's the time'. The blonde teen glanced all around her in confusion, searching for the source of the female voice that responded to her. Noting that the blonde didn't see her, the unknown figure spoke up again to get her attention. "Hey, over here." The voice was louder this time allowing the blonde guardian to latch onto the source almost instantaneously.

A girl, about the age of eighteen, sat in a position that seemed more than a little relaxed for her predicament, leaning her back on the metal bars of her cage. A dark brown, long pony tail jutted out from the back of the girl's head, lashed in place by what appeared to be nothing more than simple white lace. A tattered blue and gold long sleeve shirt that appeared to be a little big on her hung around her slender neck. Black pants, which also seemed a little big on her, with holes at both of the knees bunched up at her waist whilst extending over her feet. A ray of light shone down upon her face, sparking her exuberant hazel eyes into life. The ray of sunlight also revealed a more than friendly smile painted across her face, matching the liveliness found in her eyes. The young woman pushed her back off of the metallic bars of her cage gently, rising to her feet in one fluid motion. "Hiya, my name's Mina. What's yours?" The strange young woman introduced herself in a friendly manner, apparently not caring about where they were.

"Mine's Lauren." The blonde teen spoke in an unsteady voice that was both filled with uncertainty as well a kind of friendliness, not wanting to upset the only other human being in the area. Mina looked oddly at the blonde guardian for a moment before she just smiled a lighthearted smile, speaking only seconds later.

"I see you're not from Spira, are you?" Mina queried to Lauren from within her own cage, a small smile forming on her lips upon seeing the astonished look upon the blonde's face. "I see." The dark brown haired young woman stated still gazing over at the turquoise-eyed teen with a slight smile painted upon her face.

"Ho… how did you know I wasn't from Spira?" Lauren stammered her question out in an even more unsteady voice than she had used when she stated her name to a complete stranger. Mina simply smiled back at the blonde teen friendly while giving her a few moments to try to wipe that astonished look off her face.

"First of all, your name isn't like any found here in Spira." Mina responded to Lauren's inquiry, a friendly smile still plastered across her face as she continued to speak. "Second, the clothes you're wearing aren't like anything you'd find here either. By the way, you might want to get some new clothes from the guards next time they come around. You got blood all over your right leg." The blonde teen glanced down at her right pant leg to see it soaked in crimson blood, her own blood. The blonde's turquoise eyes shot wide in terror as she recalled everything that had happened during her fight with Nora and how she had attained her wound, yet she felt no pain. "What's the matter?" The dark haired brunette inquired upon noting the distressed expression upon the blonde guardian's face.

"Thi… this is _my_ blood." Lauren stuttered, her turquoise eyes somehow transfixed by the crimson staining on her right pant leg.

"Haven't you ever bled before?" Mina queried in an almost sarcastic voice that seemed to aggravate Lauren just a bit that she was almost making fun of her. The blonde teen nodded her head to show the dark haired brunette that she had indeed bled before. "Then what is the problem this time around?" Her hazel eyes met with the blonde's turquoise ones, sparking a kind of connection between the two teens.

"I just never have bled this badly." Lauren admitted in a slightly soft voice, tearing her turquoise eyes away from Mina's hazel ones. "And I can remember all the details to how I got the wound, too. That's why I'm so freaked out… I can still feel the pain and still hear the sound of her dagger sinking into my…" The blonde guardian stopped herself from uttering the next, for it would bring what she was feeling inside out.

"You just gotta purge all those thoughts out of your mind." Mina sounded as though she were Auron trying to teach something to her about sword fighting or anything for that matter. "Sometimes time doesn't heal all your wounds so you have to do it yourself." The hazel-eyed teen spoke again as though she were some kind of philosopher drawing a small smile from Lauren in the process. "What now?" The young woman queried with an odd look upon her face after catching the blonde laugh silently to herself.

"It's nothing." Lauren assured Mina, who still had a look upon her face that showed that she didn't believe what the blonde was saying. "You just sounded kinda like Auron, that's all." The legendary guardian's name brought an astonished look to the young woman's face in the other cage.

"You know Auron?" Mina inquired in a sheer astounded voice that seemed to have an edge of disbelief wafting upon it.

"Yep! He and I are guardians for Yuna." Lauren replied to Mina's query drawing an even more astonished look upon the young woman's face after it was affirmed that the blonde knew him. "I've known him since Luca, and since then he's hurt me a few times." The blonde teen smiled lightheartedly upon seeing that what she had said had sparked laughter from the dark haired brunette.

"So, you're one of Yuna's guardians?" Mina inquired drawing a hasty nod of agreement from Lauren. The dark haired young woman's friendly, lighthearted aura changed to that of a more serious nature. "I understand why you're in here now. At first I just thought you were a normal girl and I was wondering why you were sent here. But now that you said you are a guardian of Yuna, it all makes sense now. You helped kill Seymour so they captured you and sent you here to repent for what you have done. And personally I think you guys did Spira a _big_ favor by killing that messed up… I don't even know if you can call him a man." The dark haired young woman's voice was filled with hatred toward the half-breed Maester.

"What did you do to get yourself in here, Mina?" Lauren queried to the hazel eyed young woman, who had now propped herself up against a metal railing running up her cage. "I mean you don't look like the type that would be in prison, either." The blonde teen tacked on to her inquiry to explain her reasoning for asking the dark brunette.

"Oh, me? I'm in here because I spoke out against the pilgrimages of summoners." Mina admitted drawing an extremely confused look from Lauren from within the other large birdcage like cell. "I just think that summoners shouldn't have to be sacrificed just for the happiness of others. I know that they'll bring the calm and all but that's only for ten years, and to give up your life for ten years of peace for everyone except for you is wrong. I just think that there has to be another way other than sacrificing summoners to destroy Sin, and for good." The dark brown haired young woman voiced her thoughts that got her thrown into this little dungeon.

"What do you mean by sacrificed?" Lauren queried with a voice that held both perplexity and anger toward what Mina had said about it not being worth it to being happiness to others. "Sure, they may give up living their own life while they're on their pilgrimage, but it's all worth it to bring the calm. To bring happiness to those who need it most. That is surely worth giving up your life for a while to go on a journey to defeat that horrid monster." The blonde guardian still couldn't believe that the young woman in the other cage had said that a summoner's pilgrimage wasn't worth it.

"They didn't tell you, did they?" Mina inquired in a voice that showed that she was being entirely serious unlike how she was speaking earlier. Lauren didn't make any moves or made any sounds, only silence moved in between the two teens. "I didn't think so. You see, to be able to defeat Sin a summoner must get something called the Final Aeon. By getting it they can defeat Sin, but upon summoning it, it will also kill the summoner who summoned it along with Sin. That is why people like myself think the way we do." The hazel-eyed young woman explained everything about the Final Aeon and how it would kill its keeper after being summoned.

"Wha… what! That can't be true!" Lauren shouted at the top of her lungs almost scaring Mina half to death with her intensified volume. "Why would anyone want to have themselves get killed after summoning that thing! And why didn't anyone ever tell me!" The blonde teen's turquoise eyes began to fill with tears and her voice became chocked up nearing the end of her screaming questions.

"I'm sorry you had to learn of this now." Mina apologized in as much of a sympathetic voice as she could muster to Lauren, who was sobbing silently over in her cage cell. "As for why people would want to, you said it yourself. To bring happiness to those who need it most. As for your friends not telling you, they might have feared how you would react, and they feared that you would try to get Yuna to stop going along with her pilgrimage." The young woman's hazel eyes watched over the blonde guardian intently, waiting for how she would react to what she had just said.

"Of course I would have tried to stop her!" Lauren hollered almost as loudly as she had before when she couldn't believe what she had heard to be true. "She's my friend! I wouldn't want her to go and get herself killed just for a bunch of people that probably won't even remember her in a year or so. Everyone famous is eventually forgotten by the people but never by the friends and family. She'll just be replaced by another in ten years when Sin shows up again and she will be forgotten." The blonde's turquoise eyes were welled up with tears and she could barely keep from sobbing long enough to voice her views on the topic.

"These are points that you should be brining up with her, not me." Mina said in a voice that caught Lauren's attention even through her sobs and tear-wracked eyes. "I am already thinking exactly what you are. You should, when you get out of here, talk with her and try to make her at least reconsider if you cannot make her stop entirely." The brunette voiced words of wisdom for the blonde teen to follow whenever she got out of the Bevelle dungeon.

"I still can't believe that not a single one of them told me." Lauren said on her knees, hands placed over her kneecaps for support, her head hung in sorrow with blonde locks of hair cascading all down the front of her body. "I'm their friend. How could they have not told me? Even if they were scared of what I might do, they still should have told me anyway… I deserved to know." Tears began rolling off of her, dotting her thighs with small, circular water marks, getting more and more stead as time went on.

"Don't worry about that right now okay, Lauren?" Mina made an attempt to get the blonde teen out of her state of sheer depression by making her not worry about it. "You'll have plenty of time to worry about that and talk with Yuna and the rest of your friends when you get out of here." The dark haired young woman's voice was soft and filled with compassion toward the distraught blonde she had only met a little while ago.

"What makes you so sure that I'll get out of here?" Lauren queried at what she noted as suspicious about what Mina kept on saying about her getting out of the dungeon. "What if I'm stuck in here for the rest of my life? I'll never get to talk with Yuna or anyone else and she'll probably end up sacrificing herself to defeat Sin without me there." The turquoise-eyed teen began to silently sob again at the thought of never getting out of the small, metal birdcage like prison to see her friends or anyone else again.

"Don't worry about it." Mina stated once again in a soft compassionate voice in which she tried to sway Lauren's thinking into her playing field. "I just know that you're not going to be stuck in here for the rest of your life. You'll have your chance to get out and when that time comes you have to take it and don't look back." The hazel eyed young woman tried to calm the blonde teen down once again and it seemed like it was working. You look really tired. Get some sleep, 'kay?" With that the blonde guardian nodded and glanced around for something to rest her head on other than the hard metallic flooring. Her search failed, the blonde untied her sweatshirt from around her waist and placed it on the ground whilst laying her head down upon it, falling into an untainted slumber as soon as she shut her turquoise eyes.

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A high-pitched scream cut through the overwhelming darkness, pricking at Lauren's ears, brining her violently out of her slumber. The blonde teen's turquoise eyes shot wide open, only to see a veil of shadowed gray surrounding her in every possible. Another shrill shriek severed the otherwise silent, grayed setting causing the blonde guardian to whirl around behind her to locate the source of the horrified screams. A rift opened up in the gray veil in front of the blonde, allowing her to see past it to the source of the cries of bloody murder. Several grayed silhouettes stood around in various positions surrounding one that looked like it was in intense pain. Squinting to see what or who the grayed out forms were, the turquoise-eyed teen strode forward toward the open rift, which was tearing wider and wider into the shadowed veil. The teen's turquoise eyes shot wide open in sheer horror as well as bewilderment upon seeing the true identities of the grayed out forms revealed.

Lauren watched in awestricken horror as the grayed out form in the middle began to take familiar shape. It was herself. She stared down upon the dream version of herself, utter terror filling her turquoise eyes as she watched herself writhe in agony upon her knees. A disturbingly familiar, cold-hearted laugh flooded into the silence that followed the second shrill shriek. The gray silhouette standing before her dream self began to morph into a recognizable form leisurely. Seymour stood before the blonde's dream body, harboring the diminutive jet-black trinket he used back at the Macalania temple in his right palm. The teen's turquoise eyes locked onto the gray, soulless eyes of the half-breed Maester sending deep feelings of trepidation coursing throughout her entire being. Ripping her eyes away from the warped Maester's, the blonde guardian shifted her glance down to her dream self just in time to see her eyes glow blood red.

"Lauren!" A grayed out form to the right of her dream body hollered to the possessed for of her friend pleadingly. The silhouette contorted a few seconds before taking its final shape as Rikku, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You got to fight it, Lauren! Don't give into…" The blonde teen's voice was cut off by a soundless scream, crimson blood beginning to drip from her mouth. The possessed dream form of Lauren wrenched its katana blade out from within the blonde Al Bhed's abdomen. '_Lauren... Why did you have to do this now? We were so close… _' Crimson blood spilled out of the wound as the adolescent Al Bhed's body dropped limp to the gray shadowed floor.

Lauren opened her mouth to let out a horrified scream to her friend, but only silence passed over her lips. Her turquoise eyes were transfixed upon the motionless form of her dead, bleeding friend's body. She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face and off her bowed chin, words still unwilling to come to her mouth. '_Rikku… I can't believe that she's gone…_' The blonde teen was brought out of her deep, grief wracked thoughts by another piercing scream of bloody murder.

Lauren peered down through the ever growing rift in the gray shadowed veil to see another of the grayed out forms twist into one of her friends. Yuna stood limp, bent over on the possessed dream form of the blonde's katana blade, crimson blood staining the young summoner's clothes as well as the ground underfoot. '_Lauren… I'm sorry we couldn't find a way to stop this… or get you back to your world…_' The katana was thrust through the back of her lower spine and burst out on the other side right at the brunette's navel. A horrified scream of affliction stayed plastered on the young summoner's face, her bi-colored green and blue eyes staring into space. The blonde teen tore her turquoise eyes from the gruesome sight of her slain friend, once again trying to scream out in anguish, but her voice wouldn't oblige to her brain's command. '_Yuna… I'm so, so, so, so, sorry…_' The blonde guardian cried in her thoughts for her friend to forgive her for what she had just done even though it wasn't her but her dream form that had done the actual slaughter.

Lauren's tear filled turquoise eyes shifted once again back to where the possessed dream form of herself stood, slaughtering her friends. For some reason unknown to her, the blonde teen could not avert her eyes from the revolting sight of each and every one of her friends being brutally slain. Her possessed dream form brought her katana around in an arch, beheading Tidus with one fluid motion. '_Lauren… We were going to find a way to beat Sin for good and save Yuna… but now…_' The blonde blitz aces dead body collapsed to its knees before falling completely over onto the shadowed ground below. '_Tidus… you were always there if I ever wanted to talk about anything, but I never did come to you for anything… and now… I'm sorry…_' Lauren thought sadly about how she had never taken the blitz ace up on his offerings of friendship and comforting.

The possessed dream form of the blonde teen continued the fluid arch she used to decapitate Tidus, brining it toward another of the unrevealed forms. The katana cut a massive, jagged gash into a shadowed figure's chest that turned into Kimahri as soon as the blade made contact. '_Kimahri fail Lauren…Kimahri say Kimahri would find way to protect Lauren from Maester…_' The blue furred Ronso guardian fell back on his back from the momentum as well as the deadly bite from the katana's blade. '_It's not your fault Kimahri… I should have stopped this… I let you all down…_' Tears continued to streak down the blonde's cheeks, crying out her friend's names desperately in her brain.

Wakka made an attempt to tackle to the possessed dream Lauren before she killed any more, only to receive her katana's blade through his forehead. '_We gave it our best shot… it just wasn't good enough, ya?_' The orange haired blitzer's body went limp as soon as the katana blade pierced through the back of his skull, sliding off the blade entirely as his killer angled the blade down. '_Wakka… I'm sorry that this had to happen to you… Even though you have mixed up thoughts about people, you were still a good person at heart…_'

Lulu cried something out as she cast a spell to stop the rampaging possessed teen in her tracks, only to be given a fatal blow through her heart. '_I never thought that I would die like this…_' The black mage collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap, a pool of crimson blood inching its way out from underneath her black robes, leaving only Auron alive. '_Lulu… you weren't always as nice as the others, but you did listen to me back in Guadosalam about Seymour…_'

Auron shouldered his massive sword upon his right shoulder in his usual manner, awaiting the possessed dream Lauren's attack. The dream blonde teen brought her katana down upon the legendary guardian's head with all the strength her possessed form allowed her. The sound of metal on metal rand out through the otherwise silent grayed out surroundings, echoing off unknown barriers. The blood red eyed teen flicked her katana's blade off of the one eyed guardian's colossal blade, bringing it around and back up at the swordsman from behind to her right. Surprisingly, the master swordsman tilted his blade down at the sight of his assailant's next move faster than was thought possible for the weapon's weight. The thin bladed katana bounced off of the rather thick, solid swordsman's sword causing the possessed teen to fall backward from the shock of the blow. The one eyed guardian, taking his opportunity with his attacker's balance off, brought his massive blade in toward the blonde's side. A sickening squishing sound echoed from the midst of the two combatants, crimson blood dripping onto the ground in a rather large puddle. '_I have failed… I should have trained you more for this… Jecht isn't going to like this…_' The legendary guardian fell backward onto the ground, his throat slit, crimson colored blood spurting out of his jugular vein all the while. '_Auron… I'm so sorry for not taking your advice and sword training…_'

Only one unrevealed figure remained down with Seymour and the possessed dream Lauren, off to the side of both. A strange pallid light resonated from the figure, diminishing within a few seconds revealing the identity of the grayed out silhouette. Brian stood with a disgusted and horrified look plastered upon his face, gazing at the bloody carnage the possessed dream blonde created. "Lauren, what are you doing!" The blonde teen's point of view changed from that of an onlooker to the eyes of her dream form standing before the jet-black haired young man. In her mind she felt an outlandish feeling creep into her thoughts whilst standing in the point of view of her possessed form. The feeling that she felt was blood lust followed by the fear that allowed herself to be taken hold of by Seymour with his magic trinket.

The possessed dream Lauren moved slowly forward toward the fear stricken Brian, poising her katana over her head for a deadly strike. '_NO! STOP! NO MORE!_' The blonde teen screamed franticly in her mind as the dream form of herself inched closer and closer to the only man that she had ever truly loved. "Lauren, stop this! Laur…" The young man's pleading voice was cut off by the sound of the possessed blonde's katana sinking into his flesh. '_Lauren… I… love…you…_' Crimson blood welled up in the black haired teen's mouth, his azure eyes glazing over into a dead stare. His lifeless body, slipping off of his killer's blade, collapsed to gray shadowed ground, crimson blood scattering everywhere around where it hit. '_BRIAN!_' The blonde guardian screamed in her brain, trying to tear herself out of the possessed dream form of herself to rush to the downed teen's side. '_I can't take losing him again... Please, don't leave me again!_' She mentally cried, all the while feeling helpless and responsible for each and every one of her friend's deaths.

A malicious, heartless laugh sounded from the form of Seymour, eyeing the entire field of sheer carnage. "Good, good. Now with those fools out of the way, I have no more use for you… Kill yourself." The heartless half-breed ordered to his possessed puppet, who happily obliged by plunging her katana through her heart. The possessed dream form of Lauren let out choking noises as well others before collapsing to the ground in a blood heap. Crimson blood washed over Lauren's vision, encasing everything in an aura of blood before finally fading to black.



"Brian!" Lauren screamed at the top of her lungs, jutting up out of her sleep unexpectedly and into a sitting position. Mina jumped almost to the top of her cage at the random outburst from the only other living being in the dungeon below Bevelle. Tears streamed down out of the blonde's turquoise eyes, beginning to cry loudly into the palms of her hands pressed up against her face. "I didn't mean to do to you or anyone!" She cried in a sob-choked voice, crying more now that she had ever cried in her entire life, the images from her nightmare burning an imprint in her mind. "Please forgive me…" The blonde's voice was so soft and tear chocked that the dark haired young woman in the cage next to her could barely make out the teen's choked words of heartache.

"Lauren… What's the matter?" Mina queried in a deeply concerned voice from over in her birdcage like prison cell. "Did you have a nightmare, or something?" The dark haired young woman inquired when she got no response other than sobs of heartache from the blonde teen in the other cage. The blonde guardian made a faint nod to answer what was questioned of her, sobbing all the while into her hands. '_I wish I could be over there to comfort her… Damn these Bevelle dogs!_' The young woman thought bitterly as she gazed over at the shaking, crying teen a mere ten feet out of her grasp. "It had something to do with that Brian guy, didn't it? I guess you're his old girlfriend that he was talking about… I mean the description fits and you and he aren't from here. So, you must be her." The turquoise-eyed teen suppressed her bawling to glance over at the young woman standing in the cage near her.

"You… you met him?" Lauren's voice seemed to get a little higher in volume and a little less shaky from her weeping. Mina gave the blonde teen a friendly smile, trying to lighten the otherwise sorrowful mood of the teen, nodding in agreement to her inquiry. "When? Where? How?" The turquoise-eyed teen shot a string of questions rapidly at the dark haired young woman, her voice getting more and more steady and normal toned.

"Yeah, I met him a few weeks ago. He was drug in here, unconscious, and thrown in the exact cell that you are in now." Mina explained causing Lauren to glance around at her cell franticly as if she were going to find something there. "He mentioned something about having a girlfriend that he deeply, truly, loved, but he never got to say goodbye to her… I take it that you were his girlfriend since you seem to know him and now that I think about it, you match what he did describe about you." Tears began to run down the blonde teen's cheeks once again after hearing what he had said about her to the dark brunette. "Then one day some of the guards came and took him out of here and he never returned. He seemed really nice and it was a shame to see him leave, but, unfortunately, I can't control anything." The hazel eyed young woman seemed a little depressed at remembering the black haired teen being taken away by the guards.

"He was really nice. He always was there for me whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on. He cared about others, too, and not just himself, unlike a lot of guys I've known. He would always greet you with the friendliest smile in the world. It would just light my eyes up and make me feel special whenever I saw it." Tears streaked Lauren's cheeks, remembering all the things that made Brian special to her and as a person in general. "But none of that matters anymore…" The blonde teen's voice sunk down into a depressed voice from the voice she had just used a moment ago filled with happiness remembering her love. "He doesn't have memories of me anymore…" The blonde's turquoise eyes welled up with tears of sorrow once more, overcoming her and spilling out over the rims of her eyelids.

"I see. They must have done something to him when they took him away." Mina spoke barely loud enough for her to hear herself, leaving Lauren sobbing to herself for a moment. "All the more reason to hate these dirty playing creeps. Where will it all end? They just keep getting more and more unethical with every passing day." The dark haired young woman spoke softly to herself, shaking her head in amazement, before redirecting her gaze over to the blonde teen in the other cage. "Do you have any idea of how to get his memories back, Lauren?" The young woman queried the weeping blonde, partially shattering her grief filled thoughts for a moment.

"I haven't the slightest clue of how to get his memories back, Mina." Lauren admitted in a voice that seemed to get more and more depressed every word, shrinking back into a sulking position. "All that I know is that that freaking creep Seymour said that his _master_ was keeping hold of Brian's memories." The blonde guardian shuddered at speaking the warped Maester's name whilst remembering everything that he had put her through in such a short amount of time.

"Well, Seymour's a Maester of Yevon. So, his _master_ must be one of the higher ups in the religion." Mina stated, pondering as to whom exactly could be the one pulling the half-breed's strings and kept hold of Brian's memories. "I got it! It must be Mika!" The dark haired young woman exclaimed, getting Lauren's attention with the name of the Maester that she remembered seeing back on the docks in Luca. "He's gotta be the one doing all this. He's the head Maester so he would have control over basically anyone within the religion. Lucky for you he's here in Bevelle so you can get payback for what he's done to you and Brian." The hazel eyed young woman said energetically in an attempt to cheer up the turquoise-eyed teen that she had only met about a day ago.

"Yeah, but there's one problem with paying him back for all he's done. I'm stuck in here and he's out there." Lauren once again voiced how she felt about getting out of this dungeon to do anything productive for herself or her friends. "I don't think I will be getting out of here anytime soon. And even if I do, how am I supposed to get past all the guards and get to him by myself?" The blonde guardian questioned to Mina, who put her right hand upon her chin and rubbed it as if she were thinking hard about the answer.

"Then I'll help you!" Mina declared, dropping into a fighting stance that showed she was a little more than prepared to help out Lauren in getting back at Mika. "Besides, I want to do a little payback of my own for them putting me away in here just for thinking differently than them. But, I guess I have to give them some credit. After all, if I wasn't in here I wouldn't have met you or Brian." The dark haired brunette avowed, throwing a few punches into the empty air in front of her before kicking one of the metal beams in front of her with her right foot.

"Thanks, Mina." Lauren expressed her gratitude toward the young woman in the cage across from her, a friendly, appreciative smile painted on her face. The dark haired brunette just smiled back at the blonde teen with a smile that made the blonde feel good inside after being emotionally tortured. "You're a really nice person, Mina, you know that? Not many people would say that they want to help someone that they just met about twenty four hours ago with a problem that could change their life." The teen's turquoise eyes were filled with happiness and admiration, still moist and red from her earlier crying.

"Hey, I'm here to make friends, not enemies. So I help out others as much as I can. It's just a part of who I am." Mina proclaimed in a gleeful voice, a lighthearted smile painted on her face as she gazed over at Lauren. "Besides, who wouldn't want to help get a loving couple back together? And such a cute one at that I might add." The young woman laughed a little, glancing at the blonde teen in the cage opposite to her, who was blushing bashfully. The turquoise eyed teen drew some more laughter from the brunette when she tried to hide her face by lowering her head causing her golden locks to cascade over her face. "Hey, you know it's true." The young woman was about to say more when a large metallic door creaked open slowly at one of the ends of the bridge like path that was suspended in between rows of cages.

Two guards, one clad in red while the other in tan armor, helmets shielding their faces from view, strode in through the newly opened door onto the stone causeway. "Hey, you!" The guard on the right clad in red and orange armor called out to Lauren whilst pointing an accusing finger her way. "Maester Seymour would like you present at his big event." The guard announced whilst ordering the other, tan armored, guard to operate the apparatus to move the prison cage so they could extract the blonde from within.

"Wait, did you say Seymour!" Lauren queried in a loud, surprised voice that shocked and insulted the guards at the same time. '_I thought I killed him back at the Macalania temple. Of course, I could be wrong… I don't remember everything about that incident too clearly. But I must have when I went berserk._' The blonde guardian thought whilst awaiting an answer from either of the two guards, who stood with appalled looks in their body language.

"First off, it's _Maester_ Seymour." The second, tan armored, guard said in an angered voice as though it had insulted him on many levels. "And second, yes, he did say his name, for the Maester wishes _you_ to be present." The second guard reinforced what the first guard had said in a voice that showed that he wasn't in the mood for anything other than complete and total cooperation.

"But how can Seymour still be alive! _I _killed him back in the Macalania temple." Lauren's voice was bold and a little louder than she probably had wanted it to be at the time. "Sure, I don't remember how exactly I did it, but I remember him being dead on the floor outside of the chamber of the fayth." The blonde teen admitted, only to have the guards show their anger in their body language since they had facial helmets on.

"What do you mean by 'I killed him'! That's impossible! I just spoke with the man not more than ten minutes ago when he ordered me to get you." The first guard hollered at Lauren in a gruff voice that showed no room for any distractions to his order. "Just keep quiet little girl, or we might have to make you the old fashion way. Now, you are to go to the first room on the right out of that door." The guard pointed to the double metallic doors from which he and his partner had used to enter the dungeon. "There you will find clothes suited for the occasion, instead of the outlandish filth you're wearing now. Once you're done changing, the guard outside the door will escort you to where Maester Seymour is having his wedding." The last word the guard uttered stopped the blonde guardian's heart, her turquoise eyes wide with surprise. "Try any funny stuff and we have our orders to punish you accordingly." The guard warned the blonde as his partner brought over her cage and let her out in the harshest way he possibly could.

Lauren strolled out through the double doors and into a massive corridor, which along the sides, harbored many doors leading to who knows what. '_Seymour having a wedding! Oh no! He must have kidnapped Yuna and forced her to marry him! That's why we weren't able to find her back on Bikanel!_' The blonde teen located the room the guard had specified and placed her hand of the brass doorknob, giving it a slight twist and pull, opening it with ease. '_I gotta think up a way to stop him from marrying her._' The blonde thought whilst entering the room where she had to change into whatever they had thought suited her for the occasion. She shuddered at the thought of the warped half breed picking out what he wanted her to wear to his wedding.



"Vydran! Fa vuiht Yuna! (Father! We found Yuna!)" Brother shouted excitedly, turning back around in his seat at the front of the bridge to face everyone else in the bridge.

"Frana? (Where?)" Cid shouted back at his son's declaration whilst pivoting on his heels to face the blonde mohawked Al Bhed sitting in the navigation seat. Rikku, Tidus, Lulu, and Wakka rushed to the center of the bridge right in front of where Cid stood in front of a large, spherical object that severed as the navigation center. Auron pushed leisurely off the metallic wall in the corridor just outside of the bridge, making his way into the excitement filled bridge.

"E femm cruf oui! (I will show you!)" Brother shouted, typing in something on a keyboard panel to his right that brought up a small, blue liquid screen. The minute screen blipped a few times, static waves crackling over the blue liquid surface before finally smoothing out into a clear image.

The screen shined with a clarity that nobody thought possible from a thousand year old airship's monitor. Displayed upon the screen was a deep blue sky untarnished by any clouds, the golden sun shined with a vibrant radiance in the upper right hand corner of the monitor. The focus of the screen soon shifted down out of the azure sky, focusing now on a scene of hundreds of people gathered along side of a causeway with several different flights of stairs dotting the entire length of the walkway. All the people lining either side of the rather wide causeway were dressed up for an occasion such as a wedding or some other fancy event. Zooming in down the center of the causeway, two people appeared in the distance that appeared as though they were the ones that the ceremony was being held for. Upon zooming in even closer to the couple, the group in the bridge all stared at the screen in astonishment and horror.

"Yunie!" Rikku cried out, her horrified voice echoing off each and every wall in the bridge of the airship causing half the people present to shield their ears from being assaulted by the adolescent Al Bhed's dismayed cry. The brunette summoner strode up toward the screen, Seymour right at her side in a mostly black with a hint of dark blue suit with a pointed gray hat perched upon his blue, jutting hair. Yuna was clad in a white wedding dress that went up barely over her chest, feathered garments jutting out from her back and wrapping around just barely in front of her arms. A white veil draped itself over the young summoner's brunette hair that was now pulled up along the back of her head, a golden tiara residing right in front of the hair bunch.

The group stared awkwardly at the liquid screen whilst it backed up as Yuna and Seymour made their way up the causeway to their destination. As the screen zoomed back out, a teenage girl with straight blonde hair caught Tidus' attention. She had turquoise eyes that seemed as though their master was in excruciating emotional pain, aimlessly staring in the general direction of Yuna and Seymour. She was clad in a crimson colored dress that went all the way down to her ankles and up to right under her shoulders.

"Is that… Lauren?" Tidus queried in a shaky voice, pointing at the lower right hand corner of the screen slowly with his index finger. Everyone's eyes quickly bolted to where the blonde blitz ace indicated, surprise flashing up in each and every one of their eyes.

"Yes!" Rikku shouted at the top of her lungs, jumping up in joy to see that her close friend was still alive and unharmed. "That means she must have been kidnapped by one of the Guado back in Home." The blond Al Bhed was practically bouncing off the walls in utter excitement to see the turquoise eyed teen alive.

"Look at her eyes." Auron stated as much as commanded right before the screen zoomed out too much to see Lauren's pain filled turquoise eyes. "She seems to be in pain beyond that of anything that most people would endure." The legendary guardian's words seemed to have a depressing effect on everybody's mood that knew the blonde teen.

"I wonder what happened to her…" Rikku pondered aloud in a dejected voice, hanging her head down, her chin pressed against her chest. "I hope it's nothing too serious, but… just seeing her like that… it's just too hard to stand." Tidus strode over to where the adolescent Al Bhed stood, sorrowfully, placing a comforting hand upon her right shoulder.

"We have to get to Bevelle now!" Tidus exclaimed in a commanding voice, whirling around to face Cid to make sure he was listening to his words. "We have to get there as soon as possible to rescue Lauren and Yuna! Gramps, let's move!" The blonde blitz ace ordered the Al Bhed leader in a voice that sounded a little more than just a little impatient.

Cid gave Tidus a firm, serious glare, walking over to stand a mere foot from the blitz ace to reinforce what he was going to say next. "Easy, kiddo. Bevelle's defenses are top-notch." The Al Bhed leader's voice was stubborn and his eyes showed no signs of backing down to the blonde.

"C'mon, Pops! We gotta go down there and rescue Lauren and Yunie from Seymour!" Rikku went hastily over to her father and stared up at him with puppy dog eyes before saying anything more to convince the stubborn man. "Yunie's your nice and Lauren's one of my best friends. We gotta go there and save them. Please, Pops?" The adolescent Al Bhed pleaded, her jade swirl eyes gazing up into her father's in a pleading manner that even the Al Bhed leader couldn't resist.

"Cad luinca du Bevelle! (Set course to Bevelle!)" Cid commanded to Brother, who was turned around in his seat eagerly awaiting the order to take the airship to rescue Yuna, as well as Lauren. "Vimm cbaat yrayt! (Full speed ahead!)" The Al Bhed leader added as the blonde mohawked Al Bhed spun back around in his seat and fiddled with a few buttons and switches on the key panel in front and to the sides of him.

Rikku was just about to say something to her father when a mysterious rumbling sounded followed by the airship quaking violently. The metallic door at the entrance to the bridge swooshed open to reveal a blonde tan skinned Al Bhed in a baggy beige shirt. "We're being attacked from within." Rin explained upon entering the bridge and noting the confused looks upon everyone's faces staring at him. "Some of the Guado that attacked Home must have snuck on board." The tan skinned Al Bhed proposed his theory on what was causing the quaking of the airship.

"We'll take care of the fiends, no problem!" Tidus declared in a voice that showed that he was ready for just about anything that may lay ahead of him. Rikku glanced over at her blitz ace of a friend and gave him an appreciative smile, which he returned with a lighthearted smile. "Let's go!" The blonde blitz ace exclaimed, taking off through the doorway into the metallic walled corridor that led to the door leading out into the rest of the airship.

The group rushed out of the bridge hastily and into the arched corridor that resided right out side of the control center of the airship. One of the bowed ends of the corridor led down into a cargo bay where the Al Bhed Physics resided after Home was destroyed. The other curved end of the rather large corridor led around into a few more corridors that eventually led to a set of stairs in a large, open chamber. On the other side of the chamber rested a quite large, gray metal elevator used to get up onto the deck of the crimson colored airship. Numerous, wide window panes lined either side of the great, open chamber where you could gaze out and see the brilliant azure sky, losing yourself in its tranquility.

"Huh, now there's a rare sight." Auron stated as the group reached the top of the flight of stairs leading up to the second floor in the large chamber. Everyone else peered out through the huge window pane into the azure sky to see an immense creature flying parallel to the crimson colored airship. The soaring beast had pink-orange colored skin on its back and extremities whilst its underbelly skin was a dark bluish gray. The colossal beast's body snaked out behind it and whipped around in the wind as if it were moving through the air how a snake would move upon the ground. Massive wings of pinkish-purple hue jutted out from the creatures shoulder blades set right behind its muscular upper arms. Jagged bluish-gray horns jutted out from its skull and trailed down along the creature's body until it reached where its elegant wings spread out from its body. Its massive jaws harbored razor sharp, jagged teeth that looked as though they could tear through the hull of the crimson colored airship with ease.

"What is that?" Rikku inquired in an awe filled voice, continuing to gaze at the massive gliding beast trailing alongside the airship. The dragon like beast let out a slight terrifying roar as it dipped the wing closest to the airship down causing it to sail closer to the crimson aircraft.

"The guardian wyrm, Evrae." Lulu elaborated on what the massive, dragon like creature gliding a mere one hundred yards away from the crimson colored airship they were riding in was. "The great sacred beast-protector of Bevelle!" The black mage added to her explanation as the beast let out another deep throated roar, only this time it didn't glide any closer to the aircraft.

"The red carpet has teeth." Auron muttered in his usual voice, only it harbored a little more comedic value that he had ever expressed any other time before. A small slime passed over everyone's faces, quickly subduing in a matter of seconds remembering the situation they were in.

"Wait, that means we're close to Bevelle!" Tidus exclaimed in an overly excited voice that brought everyone's attention away from Evrae and back onto the blonde blitz ace. Before anyone could do anything more, a crackling came over the airship's intercom, brining a familiar Al Bhed's voice cascading over the speakers.

"Rikku, do you read me? We're going to fight that thing!" Cid declared through the slightly crackling intercom in a bold and proud voice that the Al Bhed leader usually employed. "Get on deck and show him what you got! Go!" The Al Bhed leader commanded boldly, the intercom crackling as he spoke until his voice disappeared from the speakers.

"There he goes again." Rikku let out a frustrated sigh at the fact that her father was so gung-ho about just bout anything and would rush in without saying anything. After sighing, the blonde Al Bhed took off toward the dark gray metal elevator, waving for everyone to follow her right away.

"The ferryman asks a high price." Auron made another comical comment before he took chase to Rikku, who was now on the elevator leading up to the deck awaiting the rest of her friend to join her.

Once everyone was on the gray metal elevator, Rikku pressed a small, green button on a control panel that would send the elevator to the deck of the airship. The metallic elevator lurched up a bit and then lurched again, a small creak and groan erupting form the joints of the elevator. The elevator ascended through the confines of the airship for a few yards before finally reaching a large metallic door, on which the other side was the deck of the airship. The door flung open with a loud swooshing sound, but was drowned out by the sound of wind rushing past at the top speeds of the airship. The group made their way hastily out onto the crimson metal deck of the airship, glancing over to their right to see Evrae swooping in closer to them. The group whipped out their individual weapons and prepared for the battle that lay just a few moments ahead of them.

"We gotta keep our distance, boys, but we can't let her get too far away." Cid's voice erupted over the speaker system out on the deck, surprisingly very audible over the loud rushing of the wind. "You all have to tell me when to move!" The Al Bhed leader said to which everyone on board the deck nodded absently, continuing to stare down Evrae as it drew closer and closer to them. "But tell me quick, eh? This rig ain't so nimble, you hear?" The bald Al Bhed warned as the intercom crackled one last time before the man spoke no more into it.

"Roger! I'll give the commands!" Tidus proclaimed loudly over the rushing of the wind, brandishing Brotherhood in his right hand, gripping the hilt of the blue crystal sword tightly.

"Not alone, you won't!" Rikku exclaimed right as Evrae dipped its left pinkish-purple wing down sending the massive beast sailing toward the crimson colored airship.

Tidus took off toward the edge of the crimson metal deck at lighting fast speeds, Brotherhood trailing behind him in his right hand. He reached the edge of the airship's deck just as Evrae swooped down out of view before coming back up and poising itself right over the edge of the deck. The blond blitz ace took an abrupt turn diagonally to his right, bringing him toward the rim of the aircraft's deck to the right of the dragon like Bevelle guardian. Coming in from his spot to the right of the beast hastily, the blonde brought Brotherhood across the creature's face at its eye level. The blue crystal blade sunk into the dragon like creature's pinkish-orange flesh right in between its pair of beastly eyes. The creature let out a deep throated bellow of pain as the liquid crystal blade skidded out of its flesh into the air, spraying a thin line of crimson colored blood in the blade's wake.

Evrae lashed out with its right muscular upper arm, its almost foot long claws seeking for flesh to burrow into. Tidus whirled around, brining Brotherhood up in front of his body, to see the dragon like beast's clawed hand rushing toward him. He brought the blue crystal sword he was wielding out away from his body and out to his right, stretching his right arm out as far as it would go. The guardian beast's was almost upon the blonde blitz ace when he brought his blade back across in an arch in front of his body. The liquid crystal back sunk into the dragon like creature's flesh between two of its clawed fingers causing it to cry out in pain and give up on its assault. The blitz ace followed up his first strike to the massive beast's clawed hand with another blow, only this time he plunged Brotherhood into the back of its hand. The creature let out another deep throated bellow of pain whilst retracting its arm in a lighting fast manner that showed that it feared the blonde's blade's bite.

Rikku rocketed toward Evrae while Tidus had it distracted from striking its muscular hand not once, but twice. She rushed right up under the dragon like beast's head whilst it was still cocked toward the blonde blitz ace, who had dealt the only damage to it so far. The blonde Al Bhed shot out her right arm, her hand in a fist with her fist blades primed for action, toward the guardian beast's chest area. The small, steel blades on the end of the adolescent Al Bhed's glove plunged into the scaly, dark bluish-gray underbelly of the massive creature. The dragon like creature let out a bellow of surprised anguish as it brought its head back around and down to see its assailant. The blonde twisted her right arm violently, ripping some of the beast's flesh free from the rest of its body in a bloody burst.

Evrae reared back its massive head, readying itself for a strike against Rikku, who had just freed her fist blades from the beast's flesh. The blonde Al Bhed shot her jade swirl eyes up just in time to see the dragon like creature plunge its colossal jaws down at her, saliva dripping off of its off white fangs. The blonde preformed a side roll to her left, evading her assailant's attempt in devourer her in one fell swoop. The guardian beast's immense jaws slammed into the rigid crimson metal deck of the airship sending a shock wave throughout the entire aircraft. The group fought valiantly to maintain their footing, but succumbed to the violent quaking, toppling them over onto one another. Tidus and Rikku, being the ones closest to the edge of the airship's deck, almost lost their footing right over the side of the deck, but managed to grip to the metallic deck somehow. The massive dragon like beast lifted its head off the crimson decked airship, shaking it hastily in an attempt to kill the dizziness building up within.

Auron, regaining his footing, hefted his massive sword onto his right shoulder, charging at Evrae at full speed. The dragon like creature, who was still trying to relieve itself of dizziness from its collision with the airship's deck, didn't notice the legendary guardian rocketing toward it. The one eyed guardian came to a sliding halt right in front of the guardian beast's right muscular arm, poising his colossal blade over his head in both hands. The immense beast caught the swordsman's actions out of the corner of its demonic eye, but it was too late for it to save itself. Brining his enormous sword down upon the creature's right arm, the legendary swordsman glanced up at the beast's face, an arrogant smile painted upon his face. The blade sank into the guardian beast's muscular right arm with a sickening sound, crimson blood spraying out of the severing wound in all directions. The massive dragon like creature let out a deep throated bellow of anguish as the swordsman's blade came to rest on the crimson colored deck with a loud thud. The creature's severed right forearm collapsed to the deck of the airship, wriggling around as though it were a fish out of water for about ten seconds before finally dying all together.

Evrae, screeching out in pain for its missing limb, backed out of range of any melee weapon, hovering motionless for a few seconds. The dragon like creature shot its pinkish-purple wings out full spread and reared its head back whilst roaring menacingly. Eight beams of non-elemental magic rained down from the azure sky onto the crimson colored airship deck toward the group of six guardians. The first of the grayish colored beams stuck the deck of the airship right next to where Rikku stood shakily near the edge of the deck. The blonde Al Bhed dove to her right out of the way of the powerful blast, only to get knocked back through the air as she did so. The blast pushed the adolescent Al Bhed back through the air toward the rest of her friends about teen feet from her. The rest of the non-elemental magic beams struck the deck of the airship in random places near the group of friends, scattering them all about the crimson colored deck. The dust clearing from each and every strike from the non-elemental magic revealed that the dragon like beast's assault was in vain, for all of its combatants were still standing.

Kimahri, posing his lance behind his body, took off toward Evrae as the creature came back in toward the airship after its unsuccessful attack. The mighty Ronso guardian thrust his lance out at the dragon like beast as he and it neared the edge of the crimson colored airship's deck. The blue furred guardian plunged his lance's spear head into the flesh of the guardian beast's chest right next to where Rikku had torn out some of the bluish-gray flesh. A sickening squish resonated out from the point of intersection between the Ronso's spear and the massive creature's flesh. The beast let out a deep throated bellow of pain, batting at its attacker with is remaining muscular, clawed hand. The mighty Ronso guardian pressed upon his lance with all the strength he could muster at the moment sending the spear head back into the creature's flesh another foot. With an abrupt twist of his wrist and tank of his arms, the blue furred guardian wrenched his lance out from within the depths of the beast's flesh.

Evrae swooped down out of view of everyone upon the crimson colored airship's deck, its majestic tail flicking right before slipping out of sight. Rikku gazed over the edge of the airship's deck into the azure sky below with a perplexed look painted upon her face. All of a sudden a flash of pinkish-orange sprung up from the depths below the airship sending a wave of wind across the crimson deck of the airship, knocking the blonde Al Bhed onto her back. The dragon like creature sailed up into the azure sky and into the path of sun, blocking it from everyone's field of view for a few moments. The guardian beast shot down toward the crimson colored airship at lighting fast speeds, its pinkish-purple wings folded at its sides. The adolescent Al Bhed got back upon her feet, only to see the massive creature plunge down at her, jaws wide and hungering for prey.

Rikku stood paralyzed with fear as Evrae barreled down upon her at speeds that she didn't even know were possible. Tidus, being the closest to the blonde Al Bhed, charged toward her as fast as his legs would carry him to save her from being swallowed in one bite. The dragon like creature, seeing its vulnerable prey dragged out of the way, rerouted its path, soaring over the airship's deck harmlessly. The blonde blitz ace let out a sigh of relief seeing the massive beast sail overhead harmlessly instead of going after him or any of his friends. Suddenly, the guardian beast's long wicked tail lashed out like a whip, striking the blitz ace in the side of the head with a loud cracking sound. The blonde sailed through the air toward the double metallic doors leading to where the elevator resided. With a softened thud, he struck the metallic doors with his side sending a wave of pain coursing through his body rapidly. Bouncing off the metallic doors shielding the elevator, the blonde hit the ground with a softened thud as his head and waist connected with the crimson colored deck.

Rikku rushed to the downed Tidus' side whilst Evrae swooped back down under the airship, coming back up in its initial position in a few seconds. Before raising her right hand up into a spell casting position, Lulu rushed toward the dragon like creature until she was close enough to cast a spell. The black mage brought her right arm down to her side rapidly, a lighting bolt streaking down out of the clear azure sky toward the massive beast. The golden lighting bolt slammed into the top of the guardian beast's skull, right in between two of the bluish-gray horns jutting out along its back. The momentum of the blast sent the dragon like beast's head jolting forward, almost smacking into the deck of the crimson colored airship. Recovering from the sudden jolt, the guardian beast glowered at the black mage with hateful eyes, but seemed to be unharmed.

Wakka folded his arms over his blitzball out in front of his body, glaring at Evrae with hate filled deep brown eyes. The orange haired blitzer flung his arms straight out to his sides hastily level with his shoulders, blitzball in his right hand. He began to twist his upper body to his right, bringing around his left arm right in front of his chest whilst having his right arm out behind him. With a sudden change in motion, the blitzer whipped his body back around, untwisting his torso along with brining his arms around in a big cyclone. A blitzball zipped out of the human cyclone, striking the dragon like creature right in between its two large glowering yellow eyes. The blue and white bumpy surfaced sphere merely bounced off on the guardian beast's pinkish-orange flesh harmlessly enough, plummeting to the crimson colored metal deck of the airship. Within the next few seconds, a barrage of blitzballs whizzed through the air toward the massive beast from within the depths of the spinning blitzer. Each and every blitzball sent from within the human cyclone struck the dragon like beast in the same area on its body, its head. The tan skinned man finally came to a halt a few moments after he had started up his human cyclone of which the purpose was to fling multiple blitzballs at the opponent.

Evrae, dazed by the sudden bombardment of high velocity blitzballs to it skull, drooped in the azure sky as if it were sick. The dragon like creature sank back away from the crimson colored airship in a manner that showed that it was apparently dizzy from the barrage of blitzballs Wakka had struck it with. Tidus was just about to give the command to move the airship in closer to the immense beast when a metal panel on the side of the aircraft shot open. Inside the now open metal panel resided a rather large, red tipped rocket perfectly lined up with the guardian beast. No more than three seconds passed before someone hit the fire button, releasing the rocket from the metal constructs of the airship. The rocket traveled on an almost perfectly straight path heading straight toward the massive dragon like beast's chest area. The crimson tipped missile slammed into the bluish-gray underbelly of the guardian beast with a deafening explosion that was barely audible over the rushing wind. A colossal cloud of grayish-white smoke formed itself around the beast's body, making it impossible to see whether or not the rocket had dealt any damage.

The group, minus Tidus, gazed in wonder at the massive plume of grayish-white smoke surrounding Evrae's body. As the smoke dissipated, the group's eyes shot wide in astonishment at the sight the newly dissolved smoke revealed. The guardian beast was still alive even after a direct hit from the airship's missiles, and seemed, for the most part, unharmed by the blast. The massive beast dipped its left pinkish-purple wing sending it sailing back toward the crimson colored airship once more. Dipping down out of sight of the group only to come back up at the edge of the deck, the dragon like beast poised itself like it was about to perform some sort of deadly attack. The massive beast breathed in a deep, heavy breath, bending its head back to the left of its body as well as up. Second later, the guardian beast brought its head back down rapidly, slowing up when it got to the portion of decking that the group was standing on. Deep green fumes began to flow out of the immense creature's massive jaws, spilling out all over the airship's deck toward the group.

"It's poison gas!" Rikku warned in a frantic voice from her position kneeling down next to the incapacitated Tidus, trying to fix up some potions for the injured blonde. The wave of greenish fumes emitted from Evrae's mouth washed out over the crimson colored deck like an early morning fog across the road. The blonde Al Bhed threw her arm up in front of her mouth and nose to block out the poisonous gas whilst doing the same for the unconscious blitz ace next to her. Everyone else followed the adolescent Al Bhed's action post haste as the poisonous fumes inched closer and closer to them over the surface of the deck.

The fumes first struck Rikku, washing over her body undamagingly, continuing back behind her toward her friends. Right after the poisonous fumes washed over her, the blonde Al Bhed began to feel lightheaded, her vision hazing over with a green fog. The poisonous green smog glided over the surface of the airship's deck leisurely toward the rest of the group that stood no more that teen feet from the wave. The venomous fumes washed over each and every one of the members of the group, harmlessly at first but then struck them with poison without warning. One by one, each member of the group collapsed to their knees, a green fog hazing over their vision, a lightheaded feeling following the blurring of vision. Auron tried to fend off the poison coursing through his body, but even he wasn't strong enough to suppress the poisons and get up.

"Rikku! Rikku!" Cid's frantic voice crackled over the intercom out on the deck of the crimson colored airship, which was now laced with a green, toxic fog. "Rikku, do you read me!" The Al Bhed leader's voice contained an edge of concern on it unlike anything anyone had ever heard come out of his mouth.

"Vy… vydran…" Rikku managed to utter as her knees gave out on her sending her face first into the crimson airship's metal deck. '_No! I can't die here! I have to save Lauren and Yunie! C'mon, Rikku! Fight it!_' The blonde Al Bhed bent her arms back painstakingly, her hands resting just barely to either side of her slender shoulders. She pushed up on the metallic deck with all her strength she could muster at the moment, but it was all in vain. She managed to prop herself a few inches off of the crimson metal surface, only to have her elbows give out on her causing her to collapse back on the deck, slamming her face on the metallic surface.

Even though all her other senses gave out on her, Rikku still had her vision despite the fact that it was partially hazed over with green fog. Evrae crept up onto the crimson airship to claim its prey when all of a sudden the metallic door sheltering the elevator opened up. Through the now open doorway stepped a teenaged girl with amethyst hair, her emerald eyes locked onto the guardian beast lingering at the edge of the airship's deck. '_It's the girl that was in the infirmary. But how could she have recovered so quickly?_' The adolescent Al Bhed thought right before her vision faded to black, her mind going numb seconds later.

Nora hastily drew out her dual dragon hilted daggers from their respective sheaths on either side of her waist. Evrae let out a challenging roar, for the amethyst haired teen had just come in between the beast and its meal. The teen greeted the guardian beast's roar by charging toward it as fast as her legs would carry her over the crimson airship's deck. The dragon like creature lashed out at the emerald eyed teen with its unharmed right arm in an attempt to catch her within its fist. Rolling to the right of the massive beast's clawed arm, the amethyst haired dagger wielder narrowly eluded the creature's powerful blow. Getting back to her feet, the teen whirled around, plunging both curve bladed daggers into the guardian beast's right muscular arm. The dragon like beast let out a deep throated roar of pain as its assailant dragged her twin daggers up along the beast's right arm toward the rest of its body. The teen yanked her binary dragon hilted daggers out of the guardian beast's upper right arm, twisting the curved blades out of the creature's flesh with a slow pull of her arms.

Its right arm falling limp to its side, Evrae reared its head back, dragging the rest of its body back far enough from the edge of the crimson colored deck so Nora would not be able to attack it. After bringing its head back, the guardian beast let out an earsplitting screech, launching its head forward toward the amethyst haired teen. Focusing on the oncoming attack, the dagger wielding teen bent her knees, leaning a little to her right in preparation for her next move. The guardian beast's head whizzed past the emerald eyed teen just as she preformed a forward roll to her right, eluding the deadly attack with ease. Pushing back off of the airship's deck, the teen leapt up into the air just as the dragon like creature's head drew back toward its body. A sickening squishing sound erupted from the beast's skull as the amethyst haired teen plunged her dual curve bladed daggers into the creature's flesh. The dragon like beast shook its head violently in an attempt to detach its attacker from its skull, but it was to no avail. Instead of removing the daggers from its flesh, the massive beast only made things worse for itself by forcing them to rip up more of its flesh and brains.

Removing her dual dragon hilted daggers from Evrae's skull, Nora leapt free from the guardian beast's body back onto the crimson colored deck. The guardian beast let out a deep throated bellow of anguish as it began to convulse violently in the azure sky right next to the airship. All of a sudden the crimson airship lurched away from the quivering dragon like creature, leaving a gap of one hundred yards between it and the beast. A percussion of loud metallic sliding sounds erupted from the side of the aircraft that the massive aerial beast was on. One by one, ten crimson tipped missiles escaped out of their holds in a thunderous, fiery percussion, trailing toward the wounded, aerial Bevelle guardian. The first rocket connected with the dragon like beast's skull, emitting flaming shrapnel piercing through the creature's body at lighting fast speeds. The aerial creature let out a shrill cry of pain as each and every one of the nine remaining missiles struck separate parts of its body in the same fiery explosion as the first. An immense cloud of pyreflies formed in the lingering shape of the guardian beast's body before spreading out in a harmonious flight to their final resting place.

Nora, her mission accomplished, sheathed her dual dragon hilted daggers whilst pivoting on her heel back toward the elevator door. A barely audible moan crept into the amethyst haired teen's ears off to her right causing her to stop mid stride, glancing over at the source of the sound. Rikku lay sprawled out on the crimson colored deck, moaning slightly in pain as Evrae's poison circulated through her entire being. Her fingers on her right hand moved slightly, showing the emerald eyed teen that she was barely hanging on to consciousness and in tremendous pain. "Well, I guess I have to keep you alive. After all, you are my ticket to Bevelle." The teen dagger wielder pivoted on her heel, striding toward the incapacitated blonde Al Bhed steadily. Once she reached the adolescent Al Bhed, the amethyst haired teen knelt down next to her whilst placing her right hand a few inches over the blonde's head. A turquoise radiance emitted out of the center of the emerald eyed dagger wielder's right hand, washing over the downed Al Bhed's body.

Rikku felt the crippling pain coursing through her body subside to a feeling of warmth and comfort. Her vision slowly shifted from pitch black to a foggy gray as she pealed her jade swirl eyes open to see who had rescued her. The blonde Al Bhed's vision soon cleared up entirely, giving way to Nora standing above her with a golden backdrop as the sun's rays poured over the crimson airship. "Who are you?" The blonde Al Bhed managed to utter groggily, sitting upright as she did so whilst gazing around the deck.

"My name's Nora." The amethyst haired teen proclaimed, reaching out a friendly hand to help Rikku up off the crimson colored airship's deck. The blonde Al Bhed took the teen's friendly, outstretched hand in hers, receiving a firm yank as soon as she clasped her savior's. "I guess I should detoxify them also." The emerald eyed teen stated as she lifted the adolescent Al Bhed to her feet with one pull of her right arm.

After helping Rikku off the crimson deck, Nora strode over to where Tidus lay a mere three feet from the blonde Al Bhed. Healing the blonde blitz ace with the turquoise aura, the amethyst haired teen moved on to each and every one of the remaining injured guardians. "Hey, Nora." The adolescent Al Bhed caught the attention of the emerald eyed teen just as she finished up healing the rest of the group. "Your name doesn't sound like it's from Spira. Are you from Earth just like Lauren?" The dagger wielding teen's emerald eyes flared up with hatred at the mention of the blonde teen's name.

Nora gave Rikku an evilly hate filled look as she strode forward toward the blonde with foreboding steps. Before the amethyst haired teen could say or do anything more, Auron cut her off by striding in front of her toward the edge of the airship's deck. "There's no time for questions. We have arrived." The legendary guardian declared causing everyone to rush over to the side of the deck he was on to gaze at the spectacle that was Bevelle.

The crimson airship zoomed through the air as fast as it could possibly could toward the causeway that harbored Seymour and Yuna's wedding. As the airship got closer, machina posted on the sides of the causeway opened up fire after being given a command from Maester Kinoc. Plumes of blackened smoke ejected out of the barrels of countless machina as well as the rifles the foot soldiers were wielding. Clouds of the same blackened smoke burst to life in the azure sky surrounding the crimson airship as it made its descent toward the heavily populated bridge. Lauren, seeing that the guards as well as Seymour were distracted for a moment, inched her way toward the top of the stairs. The blonde teen heard the twisted Maester utter something to Yuna before pulling her along by her right arm to the top of the stairs barbarically.

As it came within fifty yards of the enormous causeway, the crimson airship pulled along its side, coming to an abrupt halt. Metallic panels on the side of the hull flashed open sending four anchor like objects sailing through the air toward the bridge, massive chains towing behind. A guard standing close to the edge of the causeway made an attempt to get out of the way, but it was too late. One of the bulky, heavy metal anchor like objects slammed into the causeway right where the guard stood, smashing him into the constructs of the causeway. The crowd around the crushed guard let out shrill screams of horror, flocking about aimlessly as the remaining three anchors struck the bridge. Gun shots and cannon fire continued to erupt from every which way sending hailstorms of shells and bullets hurtling at the crimson airship. As each and every shell or bullet struck the airship, it harmlessly exploded or bounced off of the think, rigid metal plating.

Lauren glanced back over her shoulder at the airship hovering to her left to see seven shadowed figures sliding down along the immense chains strung to the anchor like objects. Upon closer inspection, the blonde noted just who the daring chain surfers were, letting a relived smile pass over her face. The turquoise eyed teen continued to gaze in the direction of her friends and glanced over each and every one of them until she came across the last one. '_What! How did she get with them! Last I remember we were both passed out back in Home... They must have come looking for me and found her wounded and took her to that airship._' A shell exploded right in front of Tidus and Rikku, shrouding them from view for a few seconds before they emerged on the other side unscathed. The blonde guardian let out a sigh of relief to see that her friends were not toppled off the chains by the machina's assault. Within a few seconds her friends reached the end of the chains, leaping off onto the causeway, weapons in hand.

Soldiers dropped into place in front of the seven fighters, training their rifles on each of the warriors' heads. Tidus charged toward the line of guards, barely eluding their fire as he drew closer and closer to the front of the blockade. Bringing Brotherhood in an arch out in front of his body and chest height, the blonde blitz ace cut through two of the guards' armor, slaying them instantly. As the soldiers' dead bodies drooped to the ground, Lulu cast off a string of lighting spells toward the remaining guards. Five lighting spells slammed into five different guards, burning a smoldering hole through their flesh where the spell struck. A guard trained his gun on the back of the black mage's head, ready to pull the trigger, when a blitzball zipped through the air, slapping the soldier in the face. Nora charged in before any of the guards had a chance to see her, simultaneously brining both her dragon hilted daggers out of their sheaths and out to her sides. As she ran past two guards, the amethyst haired teen whipped her dual daggers through the air, severing the soldiers' heads from their bodies.

Three machina brought themselves upon the group as the last of the guards' bodies hit the floor with a softened thud. One of the machina was hovering over the ground, two rather large cannons fixed to either side as their heads twirled around aimlessly. The other two machina were human like, only taller, and without any arms, two legs, one of which was propped up oddly. Auron charged up to one of the armless machina, his massive sword residing upon his shoulder, glinting in the golden sun rays splashing down through the azure sky. As the legendary guardian neared, the machina lashed out with its propped up leg, twisting on its side to project its leg to its maximum length. The master swordsman, seeing the attack coming, side stepped the otherwise fatal kick, brining his massive blade down upon the machina's fragile, yet powerful leg. Hopping around feebly, the machina attempted to balance itself back out, only to receive the one eyed guardian's sword in its side, severing it in twain.

Rikku, being the machina buff that she is, rushed up to the dual cannoned machina and went straight to work. With a few minor flicks and twists of her wrist, the blonde Al Bhed wrenched free a few vitals for the machina, casting them to the side carelessly. The cannon machina let out a few incoherent beeping and winding noises before its left cannon dropped to the ground with a loud clatter. Seconds later, the machina's other cannon slipped off from its keeper's body onto the ground followed by the rest of the machina shortly. Kimahri strode forth from the group, brandishing his lance proudly out in front of his body with both of his powerful paws wrapped around the shaft. Letting out a small battle roar, the mighty Ronso guardian pushed off of the ground below him with his muscular legs, propelling him toward the remaining human like machina. The blue furred guardian plunged his spear head into the chest area of the machina, sliding through the metal construct with unimaginable ease. Sparks flew from the fatal wound the Ronso had dealt to the machina, plummeting to the floor as he withdrew his lance from within it.

Maester Kinoc shot out his right arm at a guard standing right next to him, yanking the rifle out of his hands. "This has gone far enough!" The plump Maester commanded, training his rifle down at the group as twelve guards backed him up from all angels around the assaulting group.

Yuna, seeing the majority of the spectators distracted with her friends, decided to withdraw her staff slowly, cautiously from behind her back. "You would play at marriage just for a chance to send me?" Seymour queried whilst turning around to face the young summoner in a voice that sounded a little more than creepy. "Your resolve is admirable. All the more fitting to be my lovely wife." The brunette summoner shuddered at the twisted Maester's comment as did everyone else that wasn't under the mystification of the Maesters.

Yuna continued to reveal her staff to go on with performing a sending for Seymour when Maester Mika's old voice cut through the silence left by the half breed's comment. "Stop! Do you not value your friends' lives?" The young summoner stopped dead in her motions at the old Maester's command as well as his inquiry. "Your actions determine their fate. Protect them... or throw them away. The choice is yours." The brunette summoner dropped her staff regretfully to the ground at her feet at the Maester's words.

"You are wise." Seymour declared whilst striding right up next to Yuna, pulling her closer to him, to which she attempted to resist, but to no avail. With a sudden yank, the twisted Maester pulled the young summoner up to him, leaning down and giving her a disturbingly long kiss. The half breed's actions caused all of the brunette's friends to shudder in sheer disgust or to turn away entirely whilst trying to keep from throwing up.

'_Oh my god! Poor Yuna…_' Lauren thought, trying to keep herself from throwing up all over the crowd she had managed to get herself lost in. '_That sick creep! No one should have to be kissed by him! I'm about to hurl just seeing it… I can't imagine how Yuna feels right now…_' The blonde teen managed to suppress the feelings of nausea to the point where she didn't feel like she was going to throw up.

"Kill them." Seymour commanded to Kinoc as he pulled away from Yuna, letting her go in the process, her bi-colored eyes wide in awe. The plump Maester as well as the twelve surrounding guards primed their rifles for firing, training them heavily on the group.

"I am sorry, but it is for Yevon." Maester Kinoc spoke to Auron, who harbored an unemotional look upon his face behind his sunglasses as he often did.

Lauren, seeing that the attention of practically everyone present was focused on what would turn into an execution, slowly made her way toward Yuna. The young summoner caught the blonde coming toward her cautiously out of the corner of her eye and waited silently, unmoving, for her friend to reach her. "Hey, Yuna." The blonde teen whispered as softly as she possibly could to keep herself from being noticed by Seymour or anyone else. "I got something planned for getting out of here, but you're going to have to summon Valefor for it, 'kay?" The brunette summoner nodded silently to her turquoise eyed friend as she inched closer and closer to her. "Sorry if this hurts you or anything. Just bare with me, okay?" The blonde guardian slipped her right arm around the young summoner's neck gently, yet firm enough to be convincing to anyone watching them. "Hey! Nobody make a move, or Yuna gets it!" Everyone's attention shot from the soon to be execution back to where the blond stood with her friend locking in her right arm around the throat.

With a wave of his arm, Seymour ordered the guards to lower their rifles to which they were happy to oblige. "Go on guys! Leave now! We'll catch up with you guys later!" Lauren shouted to friends as she backed up toward the ledge of the bridge, her arm still placed gingerly around the young summoner's slender neck.

"What are you doing, Lauren!" Tidus shouted to the blonde as she continued to walk backward to the edge of the causeway, Yuna still in her lose grip. "Are you crazy! If you go over the ledge you'll die!" The blonde blitz ace continued to get what his turquoise eyed friend was trying to accomplish by taking the brunette summoner and herself off the bridge.

"Don't worry about us! Just go!" Lauren commanded harshly at her friends, who were staring at her like she was a crazed madwoman "We'll meet up with you later!" The blonde teen hollered, stepping off the last inch of the causeway, releasing Yuna from her grasp in the process. Tidus and Rikku rushed to the edge of the bridge as the turquoise eyed teen and the young summoner plummeted toward the ground below. All of a sudden, Valefor dropped out of the sky from seemingly nowhere, racing to catch up with the two teens before they hit the ground. The bird aeon dropped right under the two, spreading her wings out wide to slow her descent in order to catch her summoner and her friend. The two teens landed on the aerial aeon's chest with a softened thud, dragging the creature down through the air a bit from their falling momentum. The aeon gently slowed her descent to an almost halted speed as she neared the ground with her two passengers. Almost level with the ground, the bird aeon left the two teens off her chest and onto the stable ground below right outside of the Bevelle temple.

Yuna ruffled Valefor's neck feathers gratefully before dismissing the bird aeon back to its realm. The young summoner turned toward the temple, waving for Lauren to follow her hastily before taking off toward the entrance. "Hey, where are we going now?" The blonde teen queried noting her friend's drive to be getting somewhere in a hurry whether she liked it or not.

"We're going to the chamber of the fayth so I can get the aeon from this temple." Yuna explained as they neared the entrance to the Bevelle temple, the sounds of chaos and confusion echoing from above them. "We have to go through the cloister of trials, also. Just like any other temple, so be ready." The young summoner warned before she and Lauren passed through huge metal doors leading into the main chamber of the temple.

Finally clearing the puzzles of the cloister of trials, Lauren and Yuna made their way to the chamber of the fayth residing right through the chamber ahead of them. The two teens rushed up to the door sheltering the chamber of the fayth through a rather large, domed chamber like the one back in Macalania. The young summoner prayed to the fayth inside causing the crimson colored door to slide up into the wall and the feather like veil to peal back. The two teens hurried through the newly opened door and into the chamber of the fayth where the brunette summoner was to acquire her new aeon. Upon entering the chamber, the blonde teen's turquoise eyes widened in wonder at the spectacle she witnessed. "What's that?" The blonde guardian queried, gazing over at the purple hooded kid floating right above crystal formation with a statue in the center.

"That's the fayth." Yuna explained in a voice that showed the very importance of the fayth to a summoner. "The fayth join with summoners, such as myself, and together we acquire an aeon. They're human souls encased in the statue in the stone that you can clearly see by Yevon rites." The young summoner explained just as loud, hurried footsteps echoed through the chamber through the pealed back door.

Tidus rushed into the chamber of the fayth, only to see the Bevelle fayth fly into Yuna's body causing her to collapse from exhaustion. "What happened to her?" The blonde blitz ace inquired to Lauren, who responded with a look that was just as clueless as his if not anymore so. Without wasting anymore time, the blitz ace went over to the brunette summoner's unconscious form and knelt down beside her. Taking her in his arms, the blitzer stood up and started for the doorway just as Lauren passed through it, out to their friends. The blonde was just about to walk out through the doorway when Rikku's voice came through it, but just a second too late.

"Wait, don't come out!" Rikku pleaded, but Tidus had already stepped through the doorway, Yuna in his arms unconscious. Seven guards stood stationed around the group as Maester Kinoc appeared through the doorway on the opposite side of the chamber.

"There's the last of them." Kinoc stated more to himself than anyone else in the domed chamber as he brushed past his guard detail to stand right in front of Auron. "You are to stand trial." The plump Maester proclaimed to the legendary guardian as well as the rest of the group present in the room.

"I expected it will be a fair trial." Auron stated bitterly, glowering down through his tinted sunglasses at the shorter, fatter Maester. Kinoc chuckled a little bit to himself at the one eyed guardian's comment before he responded verbally to him.

"Oh course it will." Kinoc mocked Auron as he waved for his guards to take away the prisoners to wherever they were going to be detained. One by one, Lauren and her friends were led out of the domed chamber through the doorway to where the trial was going to take place.

A/N: Hey, guys! Hoped you liked this chapter as much as you have the ones in the past! Yeah, not too much fighting in this one, but don't worry. Next chapter will have at least three big fights in it so the action will increase like ten fold in next chapter. Anyway, I can't wait to get your reviews, and until next time, take care all!


	12. Two Foul Beasts

Chapter Twelve: Two Foul Beasts

A/N: Alright, I finally got around to finishing this chapter up. I don't know how to begin to say how sorry I am for the EXTREAME delay, but most of you already know what's been going on and why it took so long, but for those who don't know, I've just been gong through a lot of shit in the past few moths and I've had no will to write, and I'm sorry for not writing. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay, and I hope you all remember what's going on and that you enjoy this chapter in its twenty four page entirety.

"Mika!" Nora shouted in a valiant voice at the old Maester, brandishing her dual dragon hilted daggers out to her sides, knees and elbows bent for battle. The white bearded Maester spun around to face his amethyst haired challenger, a look of surprise and amusement written all over his face. "Stop right there! You're not going anywhere till you answer my questions!" Her vivacious emerald eyes locked onto the elderly Maester's soulless age faded eyes in a defiant stare filled with tension as well as hatred.

"Ah, I see you are still alive, Nora." Mika cracked a smile over his lips, beginning to laugh halfheartedly in a maniacal way that sent chills down the amethyst haired teen's spine. "I see that wretch lied to me about you being dead. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to silence you myself." A strange pallid aura began to waft around the outline of the aged Maester, shrouding him in a semi-blinding radiance.

"Answer me two questions before I kill you." Nora ordered of Mika in a firm, unwavering voice, getting the go ahead from the elderly Maester with a nod of his head. "Why didn't you tell me about my brother being alive here? And why did you take his memories away from him!" The amethyst haired teen stepped closer to the glowing Maester, her emerald eyes filled with hatred fixed upon his radiating form.

"I didn't tell you because you didn't need to know anything about him." Mika retorted in an unemotional voice, showing no concern for anyone as the pallid aura around him began to diminish. "If you knew about him you would have hung around him like the good sister you are and you wouldn't have followed through with my plans to kill that girl. But you couldn't even do that right." The elderly Maester took a few steps toward Nora, his arm glowing in the same pallid light that encased his entire body moments before. "You don't deserve to live anymore." His aged soulless eyes narrowed, glowering at the amethyst haired teen, his right arm continuing to shine in a brilliant pallid luminosity.

"You're the only one here that doesn't deserve to live!" Nora cried out defiantly, her emerald eyes flaring up with aggression as she took off at top speed toward Mika, who was standing still only ten feet from the teen. The elderly Maester made no moves to evade the oncoming blow from the amethyst haired teen, ensuring it to be a death blow. The emerald eyed teen leapt into the air about teen feet in front of the bearded Maester, her arms bent back over her head, daggers facing down instead of the usual upward position. The elderly Maester made no move to elude his assailant's attack as she barreled down upon him from the air like a cheetah pouncing on its prey. Only inches away from her target, the amethyst dagger wielder brought her dual dragon hilted daggers down upon her quarry's head with one swift motion. The teen's twin curve bladed daggers plunged into the elderly Maester's flesh, only to sink into it without a single sound or blood.

"What the…?" Nora landed upon her feet gently; her dual dragon hilted daggers still sunk into Mika's skull, seeming as though her attach had done absolutely no damage. "Ho… how are you not dead!" The amethyst haired teen stammered in horror as an amused smile played across the elderly Maester's lips.

"You can't kill those who are already dead." Mika let out a small chuckle as he gripped both of Nora's wrists with his left hand, drawing the dual blades out of his skull. Pyreflies began to whirl around the elderly Maester, basking him as well as the amethyst haired teen in an eerie, pale multihued radiance. "Now you are going to die for your insolence." His right arm shifted from a pallid glow to a dark, foreboding shade of black that seemed almost as if it were an empty void leading into eternal nothingness. The teen's emerald eyes shot wide with horror as she stared in awe at the black sphere forming around the elderly Maester's right hand. The bearded man placed his hand against the amethyst dagger wielder's bare stomach, a strange pull tugged at her as though it was going to suck her in. "Goodbye you troublesome wretch." With those harsh words, the elderly Maester pressed his gleaming palm against the teen's stomach, pushing the air out of her lungs within a single second.

Nora, suppressing all her pain, twisted her shoulders to her left whilst bending her torso to follow the same path in preparation for her escape. Abruptly twisting her body back in the opposite direction, the amethyst haired teen leapt into the air, twisting her body around to break Mika's grip off her wrists and her stomach. The elderly Maester glowered at the emerald eyed teen as she finagled herself out of his deadly grasp, landing on the floor next to the unsent Maester with a softened click of her shoes. Whirling around, right arm extended in a swiping motion, the bearded man spun around to his right with finesse that no one would ever think an old man could perform. The dagger wielding teen, seeing her assailant's new plan of attack, ducked down under the blow just as it skimmed the air where her head had been mere seconds before. The teen shot out her right leg in a sweeping motion as she eluded the deadly strike from the Maester's black radiating right fist. The old man felt himself swept off his feet by his assailant's sudden leg sweep, dropping to the ground with a loud thud.

Glowering down at her fallen adversary, Nora flung her right arm, dagger in hand, down in a slashing motion in an attempt to sever Mika's right arm off. Just as his assailant's curved blade was about to sever his right arm from the rest of his body, the elderly Maester's arm flicked into pyreflies. The amethyst haired teen gazed in horror as her blade passed harmlessly through her quarry's now faded right arm, almost coming back up to strike herself in the leg. Another amused smile crept onto the Maester's lips as he gazed at the look of trepidation and mystification playing in his attacker's emerald eyes. '_How am I going to defeat him if I can't even hit him!_' The amethyst haired teen thought nervously as her adversary rose back to his feet, unaffected by her attempts in severing off his right arm, which was still radiating the same black aura.

Razing his right, glowing black, arm into the air over his head, the black aura welling up in size with each passing moment. Nora gawked in horror as the black aura grew three times a large as its wielder's head, black sparks leaking out in all directions, enveloping anything they touched into nothingness. "Now get ready to meet the nothingness that you belonged with since you were born." The now revolving black aura over the elderly Maester's head began to send out multitudes of the same black sparks as it had done whilst gaining power, only this time they were larger, flying straight at the amethyst haired teen violently. The emerald eyed teen took off to her left as the sphere's of black aura shot toward her, following her every move intently as if they were a loyal K-9. Noting that she couldn't out run the attacks chasing her, the amethyst haired dagger wielder doubled back around and charged straight for her assailant.

Rushing toward her assailant, Nora ran as fast as her legs would carry her to escape being absorbed into nothingness by the black spheres on her heels. The amethyst haired teen whizzed past the elderly Maester, almost causing him to spin around from the velocity at which she was traveling. The black orbs zipped through the air toward their quarry, only to have the unsent Maester bar their path as the teen rounded to her right behind him. Pyreflies began to waft around the form of the bearded man as the pitch black spheres passed through where his flesh would have been if he were living. Instead of going through the fazing out Maester, the black spheres stopped in the midst of his pyrefly form, becoming absorbed into his nonsolid form. The amethyst haired dagger wielder came to a sliding halt, snapping her head back in the direction of the Maester to see her handiwork. Her emerald eyes shot wide in terror as she witnessed the black orbs not drag the elderly Maester into nothingness, but fuse with his body.

Wracking her brain for ideas, Nora made another pass at Mika with her twin dragon hilted daggers, only this time aiming for his chest instead of his head as she had done earlier. The amethyst haired teen's dual curve bladed daggers sank into where the Maester's flesh should have been, only to receive no indication of actually hitting him. Upon his assailant's binary daggers missing him yet again, the unsent Maester flung out his left fist to catch the teen in her stomach. Not noticing her adversaries move, the emerald eyed teen continued on with her follow through of her strike until the Maester's fist connected with her bare abdomen. The teen felt all the air rush out of her lungs as the elderly Maester's gnarled fist sank into her supple gut with force that would have never been suspected of an old man. The sudden, commanding blow to her abdomen caused the amethyst haired dagger wielder to crumple over in pain around his fist as well as sent soaring through the air. She came to a crash landing only ten feet away from the unsent Maester, landing with a softened thud as her head connected with the rigid flooring.

Struggling to get back on her feet, Nora glanced around the room franticly, her emerald eyes filled with apprehension as they shifted from one object to the next. Seeing his opponent squirming around on the ground in pain, Mika began to speak in a grim tone that sent chills down the injured teen's spine. "You cannot possibly believe that you can defeat the power of death, can you? I will show you just what you are dealing with before I send you into the ghastly oblivion." The teen's emerald eyes were fixed in a look of pure trepidation, her breath being torn from her lungs by an unseen foreboding aura. The air around the unsent Maester thickening as it began to darken until it was nothing more than a pitch black barrier around his body. The darkened air began to contort around the form of the Maester as an eerie, deep crimson radiance began to well up within its confines.

A wave of unseen power smashed into Nora sending her sliding back along the ground on the ground about five feet until she crumpled up against a wall. The crimson light emitting from within the heart of the black aura flashed blindingly for a moment before subsiding into the pitch black aura. The amethyst haired teen, removing her shielding arm from her emerald eyes whilst getting out of the uncomfortable position imposed on her from striking the wall. A jet black figure emerged from within the constructs of the now fading pitch black radiance, a pair of blood red eyes piercing the darkness whilst striking inconceivable fear into the emerald eyed teen's heart. The figure harbored a pair of gnarled hours protruding from either side of its skull, making their way out in front of the skull. Wings that cut through the light in the room were as black as the empty void in which the unsent Maester promised the amethyst haired teen that she would be imprisoned in forever. Long scaled black arms and legs protruded from the creature's lanky body, large claws jutting out from each of its gnarled fingers and toes.

"Wha… what… is… that!" Nora managed to utter in a voice choked with trepidation and uncertainty, crawling back away from the demonic creature on her back until she backed herself into the cold steel wall behind her. Pressing her back up against the wall, the amethyst haired teen slid up the steel wall gradually, pressing her body flat against the partition. '_Whe…where did that thing come from! And where did that lying old bastard go!_' The teen's emerald eyes locked onto the demonic being's blood red eyes, freezing her in position with fear up against the wall. Her grip around the dragon hilted dagger in her left hand slipped, sliding through her semi-opened fingers, hitting the ground next to her with a resonating clatter. The jet black creature's blood red eyes slipped off of the amethyst haired teen's emerald ones and down to the dagger that had just plummeted to the ground. The wicked beast noted the teen's fear as it passed over her trembling left hand, allowing a sinister smile to pass over its wicked visage.

"This is but a taste of what the power of death can produce!" The wicked creature's bone chilling voice slithered through the air and into Nora's ears causing her to quake with fear even more so than before. "Good, good… Your fear invokes much pleasure within me. But don't worry, for soon you won't feel anything." The jet black creature leapt at the amethyst haired teen, covering the distance between the two in a matter of two seconds. A clawed hand wrapped itself around the teen's slender, chilled neck, its long nails pricking the back and right side of her neck. Instantaneously, the demonic creature's grip went from lose to that of a grip that ensured to strangle the life from anyone in a matter of seconds. Already being semi-out of breath from the unsent Maester's punch to her gut, the emerald eyed teen attempted to breathe in; however, only succeeded in allowing her assailant's grip to grow tighter around her neck. Shooting both of her arms up in an attempt to dislodge the death grip from around her neck, the teen dropped her remaining dragon hilted dagger to the ground with a small resonating clatter.

Nora squirmed in the steel like grip of the demonic creature as it lifted her off her feet, pressing her back violently to the chilled wall behind her. '_I… I can't die here! I have to see Brian again… I can't let this bastard keep me from him any longer!_' Mustering all her strength left in her body, the amethyst haired teen flung her right foot out up toward the jet black beast's chin in an attempt to shatter his grip on her. The blow connected with the wicked creature's chin sending his head jutting back up toward the sky, having no further effects than the momentary distraction. Leisurely lowering its head back down to eye level with the emerald eyes teen, the demonic beast tightened it grip upon her throat causing her to choke faintly, but was restricted by its forceful grip. The teen tried to scream out in pain as her lungs burned and her brain screamed for oxygen, only to have a shrill squeak pass through her wide open mouth.

'_I'm going to die here… I can't believe it, but I can't hold on any longer…_' Nora thought grimly as she felt her heart beat slowing down in her throat, her breathing becoming totally nonexistent as her body started to go limp on her.'_I can feel the strength leaving my body as each second passes… I've experienced this feeling before and I told myself I would never feel it again!_' The amethyst haired teen's arms slipped off of the wicked creature's arms, falling back down to their respective sides in a small free swinging motion. The teen's thrashing legs became still and limp, swinging slowly from side to side from her body being held in the air against its will. Her emerald eyes began to grow heavy with each passing second without oxygen, her head following their mark, tilting down to touch the wicked beast's clawed hand. A devious smile passed onto the demonic figure's visage as it held its unconscious quarry in its right hand up against the chilled metallic wall.

"Hmph! You are as weak as I thought." The demonic creature's sinister slithering voice pricked the attention of Nora's ears in their last moments of being attached to a living brain to decipher the sounds they took in. "You never deserved to see that wretched brother of yours. And now, you won't have to worry about seeing him again… or anything ever again for that matter. Now, say goodbye to your life." The wicked beast was about to snap the now unconscious amethyst haired teen's neck when a sharp, burning pain erupted from the back of his spine. Dropping his quarry out of his steel grip, the demonic creature cocked his head back of her shoulder to see a bright pallid light resonating off his back. As the searing pain dissipated, the wicked beast turned full girth to face his new assailant with his full furry. Another vivid burst of pallid radiance struck the beast, only this time it struck him in the chest sending him sailing backward toward the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Nora felt life return to her body slowly at first, but then with a great burst of vigor as a warm, soothing aura washed over her entire being. She pealed her emerald eyes open to see a bizarre black fog hazing over her vision to clearly make out the figure standing above her. "Are you okay? Can you get up?" A friendly female voice broke the silence in the amethyst haired teen's world causing her to shake her head and rub her eyes with the palms of her hands in an attempt to clear up her vision. Her savior had dark brown hair and was clad in a worn out blue and gold shirt, a warm smile painted upon her face as she gazed down at the injured teen. "Need some help up?" The female said, extending her right hand friendly to the emerald eyed teen, holding it only a few inches from the injured teen's own hand. Hesitantly the teen took her rescuer's hand, feeling herself being pulled up as soon as her shaky hand gripped her savior's firm hand.

Finally getting back to her feet, Nora gaped in wonder at the young woman who had just saved her from the demonic creature Mika had morphed into. "Hey, sorry. No time for introductions!" The dark haired young woman shot out her left hand toward the amethyst haired teen's chest, casting a pallid healing aura over her entire being. "There, that should do it! Let's kick this guy's ass!" The young woman declared as the wicked beast came lumbering back toward the two teens, a blood lust filling its blood red eyes.

The dark haired young woman counter charged the demonic creature barreling down upon her and Nora, body bent forward, arms out and back to her sides. The wicked beast flung out its right clawed hand in an attempt to catch his assailant by the head, crushing her skull in all in one fluid motion. The young woman ducked under the wicked creature's deadly blow with the slightest ease, shooting her fist up into the beast's jet black abdomen. The emerald eyed teen looked on in astonishment as her savior's right fist began to glow with a vivid pallid radiance causing her to shield her eyes with her left arm. The jet black creature let out a shrill shriek of pain as a wave of holy energy passed from the dark haired young woman's right fist into the abdomen of her quarry. The sudden surge of holy energy sent the demonic creature sailing back through the air until he came into contact with the steel wall on the opposite side of the chamber. The amethyst haired teen just stared at her savor, her emerald eyes shot wide in utter bewilderment at the fact that she could harm the creature where she couldn't.

The demonic creature went to get back upon his feet, only to receive a blow to the head from another holy spell shot from the dark haired young woman's right palm. Approaching her downed quarry, the young woman held out her left hand in which a vibrant pallid light shined brightly in the shape of some kind of weapon. After a few seconds of radiating its pallid radiance, the glow began to contort into something useable, a spear crafted entirely out of holy energy. The young woman wrapped her slender fingers around the pallid spear shaft tightly, drawing it in front of her body as well as into her right hand. Poising the spearhead at the temple of the wicked beast that lay before her, the dark haired young woman took a few seconds to gather even more holy energy into her newly crafted weapon.

The beastly creature, seeing that he was about to receive a blow that would actually slay him, abruptly summoned up an orb of dark energy that enveloped his assailant. The dark haired young woman franticly glanced around her at the sphere of dark energy that was containing her as well as her holy spear. With a sudden percussion of ripping, tearing, stretching, pulling the orb of dark energy began to contort around its captive in a torturous torrent. The air around the young woman began to shrink in close to her body, cutting off access to her lungs as well as to her heart. Another sickening sound resonated from the orb of dark energy as it began to pull away from its captive in all directions, stretching out her entire being. Almost as soon as it began to pull away, the sphere of dark energy whipped back to its compact form before abruptly dissipating, leaving the young woman to collapse, battered, to the ground. Her spear made of pure holy energy still radiating its pallid vivacity rolled out of her left hand and across the tiled floor toward Nora.

Glancing down at the holy energy crafted spear, Nora bent down slowly, reaching her right hand out to grip the lustrous spear shaft. Wrapping her slender fingers around the smooth shaft cautiously, the amethyst haired teen brought herself back to a full upright position. The demonic creature now stood back upon its lengthy hind legs, ready to pounce on the emerald eyed teen at any second. The teen charged the wicked beast, holy spear in her grip as it in return charged back at her with the blazing fast speed of a jet. Thrusting the holy energy crafted spear out in front of her body, the amethyst haired teen put all the strength she could muster into her two arms. The jet black creature did not come to a stop at the sudden offensive attack being given out by his assailant, but continued his charge uninterrupted. The teen forced herself to a sliding halt, spear poised out in front of her body at her attacker's chest height in an attempt to impale the demonic beast as it charged her. The creature came in closer and closer as the teen shut her emerald eyes tightly, not wanting to see her own death coming toward her.

An odd sickening squishing sound resonated from right in front of her causing her to open up her emerald eyes wearily to gaze upon the spectacle in front of her. Nora's heart skipped a beat when she saw the sight of the demonic creature impaled through the chest, halfway down the shaft of the holy energy spear. Dark crimson, almost black, blood dripped out of the jet back beast's fanged mouth as the holy energy from the spear coursed through his body with a searing vengeance. Snapping the holy spear in half, the wicked beast broke away from his assailant, ripping the half still stuck in his body out of his flesh, casting it to the ground in a violent manner. The severed halves of the holy spear flickered faintly in their pallid light for a moment before fading into nothingness. A deep crimson glow surrounded the beast as he backed away from the amethyst haired teen jadedly, a trail of almost black blood lining every step of his movements. The figure of the demonic creature faded away, giving way to the silhouette of Maester Mika, dimming to a faint pallid radiance.

"It would seem I didn't foresee her showing up to save you." Mika faintly staggered as he moved over to the unconscious form of the dark haired young woman, who had saved Nora's life. "No matter, I have no time to deal with you at the moment. I have a summoner to condemn." The unsent Maester trained his right hand on the amethyst haired teen's head, muttering something under his breath as he did so. "I hope you enjoy your rest… It will surely be your last." With that the bearded man cast a sleeping spell upon the emerald eyed teen causing her to collapse to the floor, asleep, as soon as the spell struck her body. '_She should be out for enough time for me to condemn the one who defies the teachings of Yevon._' The wicked Maester nudged at the unconscious form of the dark haired brunette sprawled out on the floor merely a few inches from his feet. The unsent continued on his way to the large wooden doors at the end of the chamber, twisting the knob open with a slight flick of his wrist.



Gradually opening her turquoise eyes, Lauren blinked the haze from her vision, scanning the area around her for anything, or anyone familiar. The blonde teen gazed upon the same metal bars that she had seen back when she was being held in that bird care like cell before she was forced to the wedding. Upon further inspection of her surroundings, the blonde guardian gazed upon the familiar friendly face of a certain blonde Al Bhed sitting propped up against the steel bars of their cell. "Lauren! You're awake!" Rikku exclaimed in an overjoyed voice, rushing over from her relaxed position against the metallic bars to a kneeling position next to her blonde friend. "How are you feeling, Lauren?" The turquoise eyed teen sat up leisurely into an upright position next to her Al Bhed friend, who held a hint of concern in her jade swirl eyes.

"I've felt better, Rikku. Right now I feel like I was hit by a truck" Lauren expressed her condition as she went to make a move to stand up, only to be held down by winces of pain jutting from her back. "What happened, Rikku? All I remember is coming out of the chamber of the fayth and then being captured by that creep Kinoc and Bevelle soldiers, but after that it kinda gets all fuzzy." The blonde teen remained in her upright sitting position to avoid from drawing anymore unnecessary wincing in pain. "And where are Yuna and the others?" The turquoise eyed teen let out another of the many questions swirling around in her head about what is going on and who, or what everyone is.

"Well, at first you went along peacefully with the guards with the rest of us, but then you started acting out against them. You punched the guard that was holding you captive in the jaw which caused all the other remaining guards as well as Kinoc to get you under control. When you resisted against them, they hit you in the back of the head with the butt of one of their rifles, knocking you out." Rikku explained how Lauren had fought the guards for her freedom without even remembering a single detail to what had happened. "As for the others, they're in trial for disobeying the teachings of Yevon. They tossed us in here because I'm an Al Bhed so they didn't want me in their 'sacred' presence, and they tossed you in here with me because you were unconscious. Besides, I don't think they wanted to risk you attacking the guards again in a public arena." The blonde Al Bhed explained the rest of their situation as the turquoise eyed guardian placed her right hand on her chin, tilting her one way or the other and up, getting a kink out of her neck.

Lauren cocked her head back, gazing up above her before she closed her turquoise eyes serenely, taking in a deep breath to calm her body and mind. The haunting image of Rikku impaled upon her katana through the stomach, crimson blood trickling off her lips, ghosted in front of her vision. The blonde teen shot her head back into a normal position whilst launching her turquoise eyes open, trepidation and revulsion apparent in her eyes. '_I can't let that come true… I have to stop myself from killing everyone I care about…_ _but how can I stop myself if I have no control over my body?_' The blonde guardian thought sadly, stealing a glance at the adolescent Al Bhed, who had now made her way back to the side of the cage where she started. "Rikku…" The blonde Al Bhed cocked her head questioningly at the sound of her friend's low voice, gazing over to see her head hung in sorrow. "What if I said that I can't go along with you guys anymore? Do you think Yuna would be okay without me?" The blonde's sorrow filled words drew a completely perplexed and concerned look from her Al Bhed friend sitting only a few feet from her.

"What are you talking about, Lauren?" Rikku queried in a voice that expressed both her utter mystification and uneasiness at the turquoise eyed teen's words of sorrow. The adolescent Al Bhed shuffled along on her knees over to the side of her friend, placing a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder that was as much as much for her friend as it was for her. "What would stop you from coming with us to save Yunie?" The blonde Al Bhed's voice was now filled with complete astonishment that her friend would say such things out of the blue.

"I… I had this dream when I was being held here before the wedding… And in that dream Seymour took control of me and had me kill all of you… even Brian and then he had me kill myself when you were all dead and gone." Lauren explained through a sob filled voice, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks from her turquoise eyes now heavy with horrible memories of the nightmare. "I know that it was just a dream and I couldn't see anything like where it was taking place… but… it was just so real… I felt my heart being torn apart as I watched each and every one of you die by my own sword… I heard your final thoughts as you died… It was just too much to bear… And now, I can't get the images and your voices out of my head..." The blonde teen cried as her Al Bhed friend wrapped her arms around her, patting her on the back for comfort as she cried on her shoulder.

"Lauren… It's okay. It was just a dream." Rikku continued to hold her friend in a comforting embrace, patting her on the back gently, as the blonde continued to cry on her shoulder. The blonde Al Bhed couldn't see her friend's eyes, but felt the sadness radiating from her as well as the mild tears dripping onto her shoulder. "Lauren… We're all here and safe. Don't worry about it. It was just a dream and dreams aren't real. What is real is that I'm with you right now and Yunie and the others will be with us again soon." The adolescent Al Bhed did not feel anymore tears rolling onto her shoulder and did not hear anymore sobs coming from her friend.

"I know, Rikku. I know it's just a bad dream and that you are here now, but I just can't get the images and thoughts out of my head…" Lauren spoke in a somewhat clearer voice than she had used earlier when she was explaining to the blonde Al Bhed what her dream was. The blonde teen pulled out of her Al Bhed friend's comforting embrace, wiping the remaining tears from her turquoise eyes as well as off her cheeks. "I don't think I can go with you guys anymore, though. I could never stand killing all of you with my own hands, even if I'm possessed… I can still feel the pain…" The teen's turquoise eyes welled up with tears once again at the thought of never seeing Rikku or her other friends again, or even worse… killing them.

"Lauren, you have to come with us! I don't want to lose one of my best friends just because of a bad dream she had! And I'm sure Yunie wouldn't like losing you, either! You've been her friend and guardian, and I know for a fact that you two are good friends." Rikku's voice held a little bit more than a little bit of frustration, but she tried to keep it to a minimal since her friend was in such a bad mood. The turquoise eyed teen opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced by her Al Bhed friend's voice cutting through the air once again. "Don't worry about Seymour, Lauren. If that creep tries to do anything to you, I'll stop him, and I'm sure everyone else will do as much as they can also. Just believe in us, okay? We're your friends and want to help you. Besides, I can't stand seeing you like this…" The adolescent Al Bhed placed another comforting hand upon her sorrow wracked friend's shoulder as the words came out her mouth.

"Thanks, Rikku… I really appreciate you standing up for me and all, but I just don't think that you will be able to stop Seymour from possessing me again…" Lauren hung her head in sorrow, tears welling up in her turquoise eyes, leaving the blonde Al Bhed's hand placed comfortingly on her right shoulder. The blonde Al Bhed opened her mouth to protest against her friend's words, only to be silenced by her placing a silencing finger upon her lips. "You guys weren't able to stop him from possessing me back in Macalania… What makes you think that you would be able to from now on?" The blonde guardian's Al Bhed friend hung her head in shame, for she could not come up with anything to reassure her friend, as well as herself. "I'm sorry for doubting you, but I'm just not sure of anything anymore…" The turquoise eyed teen apologized to the adolescent Al Bhed after glancing up at her, seeing the sorrow in her usually lively jade eyes when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything, Lauren… You're the one going through everything, and I don't blame you for doubting me… After all, I couldn't save you back in Macalania… But back then we had no idea that he was going to do something like that and we had no way of reversing the spell… But now, we know what he has planned, so we can stop him." Rikku lifted her head back up and gazed over at her blonde friend, who had now tilted her head back up and cocked it to face her Al Bhed friend. The teen's turquoise eyes were filled with a mix of doubt, gratefulness, sorrow, and strong will to stick by her own words. "Lauren… You just gotta believe in me and the others. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, so we would all risk something for you… or at least I know I would and I'm sure Yunie would, too." The adolescent Al Bhed's voice, as well as her jade swirl eyes, was filled with pleading to get her friend to see things her way and dismiss the thought of leaving her friends.

"Rikku, I understand that you don't want me to leave, and I don't want to leave, either, but I have no choice… If I go with you guys and we meet up with Seymour again he could possess me again and have me kill all of you just like in my dream…" Lauren's voice drug low and sad as she spoke the last few words of her defense as she once again hung her head in both sorrow and shame for trying to abandon her friends. "Deep down, I believe in you guys, and think that you'll protect me from him… But, at the surface, I just don't think that you guys will be able to do anything… I killed him back in Macalania, but he just came back to life… How are you guys supposed to protect me from a guy that's supposed to be dead but isn't? If even death can't stop him, what makes you think that you could possibly do anything?" The blonde teen shot her head up to gaze directly into her Al Bhed friend's jade swirl eyes with her own doubt filled turquoise eyes. The adolescent Al Bhed glanced away from the gaze of her friend to prevent her from seeing the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Lauren. We'll think of something!" Rikku said in her usual lighthearted tone in an attempt to cheer her friend up whilst suppressing her own doubts that reside within her. The blonde teen gazed at her Al Bhed friend, a halfhearted smile painted on her face in an attempt to make the adolescent Al Bhed stop worry about her and her problems. "Even if death can't stop him, I'm sure he's not totally invincible. We'll find out a way to stop him from harming you or anyone else. I'm sure Yunie and Tidus will do all they can to help you out and so will I. I think even Auron and Kimahri will help out." The blonde Al Bhed added, noting the false smile upon the turquoise eyed teen's face, trying yet again to bring out a real, unworried smile.

"I guess you're right, Rikku…" Lauren's voice was soft, uncertainty and trepidation bleeding through what she wanted her voice to sound like, agreeing and lighthearted. The adolescent Al Bhed was about to say something when a creaking sound slipped through the silence from the wooden double doors at the end of the bridge like causeway. The left door opened up only several feet, allowing enough space for one person to walk through the passage normally. From within the shadows cast by the creaked open wooden door came two guards, the same ones that had taken the turquoise eyed teen out of her cell to go to the wedding. "Not those two again… I wonder what they want this time…" The blonde teen brooded in a whispering voice drawing her Al Bhed friend's attention, for she knew nothing about the blonde's earlier imprisonment.

"You, get up!" The guard clad in off white armor commanded , pointing an accusing finger at Lauren as the second guard looked on with apathy. The blonde teen pointed to herself and gave the first guard a look of confusion as to if he meant her or Rikku to get up. "Yes, you! The one called Lauren. We have special orders to escort you. Now get up and get ready to be let out of your cell!" The first guard explained as he waved his right hand carelessly to the second guard, who brought in the bird cage like prison cell to the bridge. Unlocking the cell, the first guard grabbed the blonde guardian by the wrist brutally and heaved her out of her cell and onto the floor next to him. "Remember, try any funny stuff like what you did in Maester Kinoc's presence, and we'll beat you down into submission. We won't be as kind as those soldiers of his… We won't just knock you out. We'll make you suffer a lot more. Got that?" The turquoise eyed teen gave a slight nod of recognition as the guard hauled her back up onto her feet suddenly before leading her off back through the double wooden doors. The blonde Al Bhed looked on with a look of concern written all over her face as her friend disappeared through the doors with the two guards.

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'_I wonder where they're taking me…_' Lauren wondered as the two guards escorted her down a seemingly never-ending corridor illuminated only by a few burning candelabras mounted on either wall. The light grew fainter and fainter as the three continued down the dimming corridor toward a location unknown to the blonde teen. '_I hope they aren't taking me to be executed… or worse… to Seymour…_' The guard in front of her came to an abrupt halt causing the blonde to peer over his shoulder to see what he stopped for since she was too short to see what lay ahead. An antique looking wooden door stood before the two guards and the turquoise eyed teen, shedding a foreboding aura that sent shivers down the teen's spine. '_I really hope Seymour or one of the other Maesters aren't behind there…_' The blonde guardian gulped as silently as she could, but the guards still head her and let out a little chuckle as the one in the front twisted the brass knob on the door slowly.

"You should be scared, little girl. You're about to meet Tasuh… I hope you aren't afraid of creatures that look like they were ripped out of a nightmare from Hell." The two guards laughed evilly as the one in the front parted way for the second to push Lauren into the pitch-black room. Instead of finding herself in an empty room, the blonde teen felt herself drop off the edge of the hallway as she stepped into the supposed chamber. The turquoise eyed teen felt herself become lightheaded as she continued to plummet through the pitch-black air to an unknown location. Her eyelids began to grow heavy from the lack of oxygen getting to her brain as she continued to plunge through the pitch-black void. Besides the fact that it was too dark to see anything, the blonde's vision began to fade to an even deeper shade of black as all her senses began to fade.

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"Those who question these truths-they are traitors!" Mika proclaimed from the balcony in the court room, his old raspy voice echoing off the curved walls of the dome like chamber. Yuna called to the unsent Maester but he did not heed her words of pleading as he turned from the young summoner and the other present at the trial. The elderly Maester, opening up a metallic door set back behind him and the other Maester, hastily disappeared from the view of the brunette summoner and her friends slash guardians. "Ah, good. You are here." The bearded man greeted a cloaked man standing off in a shadowed corner of the chamber the Maester had just walked into.

"I said I would be, did I not?" The cloaked man retorted in a voice that seemed to be more than a little irritated with Mika as he pushed himself from the corner. The unsent Maester let out a low grunt before he nodded his head in agreement to what the cloaked man had said even if it was in a rude tone. "Now, what did you want to see me about, Mika?" The cloaked man inquired, striding over to stand in front of the elderly Maester to look him in the eye from within the shadows of his cloak's hood.

"Ah yes, you were always one to get straight to the point, now weren't you?" Mika spoke a question that he had no intention of being answered by the cloaked man, who seemed to getting more than a little tired with the old man's way of dealing with business. "It has to do with Seymour. He cannot be trusted anymore to fulfill anything. He has proven to me that he is a weak, low being that has absolutely no power and therefore is no use to us anymore." The unsent Maester elaborated on why he wanted to meet with the cloaked man; however, he left out the rest of what he was going to say.

"So, you want me to take care of him? You want me to get rid of the useless garbage so he cannot stink up the place anymore." The cloaked man queried, rifling around under his cloak until his hands came to rest upon something draped in cloth and as rigid as steel. "If that's the case," The man began, whipping out his dual skull hilted swords from underneath the veil of his jet black cloak in either hand. "Then you have nothing to worry about. I am one of the best, if not the best swordsman alive anymore." The cloaked man twirled his dual swords in between his fingers a few times casually before resting them peacefully at their respective sides.

Mika chuckled a bit at the cloaked man's eagerness to get rid of Seymour, for he had not used his blades to dispatch of someone for some time. "Oh no, I do not want you to kill Seymour." The unsent Maester could not see his facial expression, yet he could feel an aura of annoyance radiating out from the cloaked man. Twirling his dual swords in between his fingers, the man slid them back into their respective sheaths harbored within the depths of his cloak on either side of his waist. "Instead of getting rid of him now, I want you to follow him when he goes to guard the exit to the Via Purifico." The elderly Maester explained his plans for the cloaked man to follow Seymour due to his lack of reliability shown in the past.

"How are you positive that he will go to guard the exit? After all, isn't that place designed to keep people from escaping?" The cloak man expressed his doubt that Seymour would actually guard the exit of a place that no one has had ever escaped from. "Plus, don't you have that Issaru fellow down there to do that job anyway?" The man's voice sounded as though he were trying to get out of following around the twisted half breed to ensure his loyalty.

"What's the matter?" Mika said in a sarcastic voice, laughing lightheartedly at the fact that the cloaked man seemed to be unsure of his reasons for saying that Seymour would do what he said. "You sound like you are trying to get out of following him. Now, why would you be trying to do that?" The unsent Maester continued to chuckle to himself as he awaited a response from the man standing a mere two feet in front of him.

"I'm sorry if I sound like that, but can you really blame me? I mean who would want to freely follow around that warped man?" The cloaked man's inquires seemed to strike an amusing cord with Mika, who sustained his chuckling as the man continued to speak. "I mean would you like to follow around a man that killed his own father, betrayed his people, and is just a complete freak?" The cloaked man proceeded to defend his case by putting the elderly Maester in his position.

"I understand what you are saying, but nonetheless, he cannot be trusted. He will go to guard the exit because he knows as well as I do that our prisoners are stronger than they appear." Mika spoke now with a serious voice that he had not used earlier, startling the cloaked man at the Maester's sudden change in attitude. "You merely have to stick to the shadows and follow him to the exit to the Via Purifico. Then, when he confronts Yuna and her guards once they have emerged, if he fails you take his place and finish off the job. But remember, do not kill any of them slowly, for we wouldn't want them not to suffer, now would we?" The unsent Maester chuckled evilly to himself as he turned back away from the cloaked man, seeing as though he was done speaking to whom he had summoned.

"You truly are one of the most evil men on the face of Spira. It's kind of funny since you are the head of a holy religion that punishes traitors, and yet you seem to defy it yourself." The cloaked man's comment stopped Mika in his tracks, only long enough to laugh in a minute tone that was barely audible in the small chamber. "But no matter. Don't worry, for I will succeed where Seymour has failed, I can assure you that." The cloaked man pivoted on his heel after proclaiming that he would not fail as Seymour had, walking out the door on the opposite side of the room.

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A foul, putrid aroma pricked at Lauren's nostrils, brining her abruptly out of her unconscious state, back into the real world, finding it grim. As the dark haze filtered out of her vision, the blonde teen stared around at her surroundings in an attempt to figure out where she was and what she was doing there. '_Wha… what is this place?_' The teen brought her turquoise eyes around in full circle about her surroundings, cringing at unpleasant odors assailing her nose from every direction. Finally she managed to pull her sweatshirt up over her nose, holding it there so she could explore around in what looked to be some sort of dungeon maze. The stone bricked walls were coated heavily in moist, ancient green moss as well as slender vines from multitudes of plants, fanning out to cover practically the entire wall system. The ground on which the blonde guardian laid upon was also covered with the same moss and vine combo causing her to leap to her feat hastily just as she realized what she had been on.

Peering around in a circle, Lauren noted that there was one was and one way only out of the chamber like area she was in. The lone corridor loomed to the blonde teen's left like a foreboding void of darkness that would enfold any mortal being that entered, casting them into eternal darkness. Wearily the turquoise eyed teen strolled over to the darkened corridor, which was completely pitch black except for one lone candelabra mounted to the wall down an immeasurable amount of space. Even more cautiously, the teen strode down the nearly pitch black corridor, her right arm folded across her body, her hand resting on the clothed hilt of her katana the entire time. Her footsteps echoed loudly up and down the corridor, giving her the feeling that someone or something was following her, waiting for her to let her guard down to devour her. The blonde guardian whirled around at a peculiar sound behind her, unsheathing her katana in the process, training it on the source of the clatter. '_Man… I'm getting paranoid… It's just a freaking mouse…_' The blonde turned back down her path, leaving the diminutive mammal alone whilst sheathing her katana back into its leather scabbard in the process.

As she neared the only lit candelabra mounted onto the corridor wall, Lauren heard a strange noise echoing from down the corridor. '_What the…?_' The blonde teen thought just as the candelabra to her right went out on her, leaving her in complete darkness, gripping her katana hilt tightly. Another incoherent noise echoed down the corridor, sending chills down the turquoise eyed teen's spine as she warily strode forward. "Lauren…" An eerily familiar voice pricked at the blonde's ears causing her to stop dead in her tracks, gazing into the impermeable darkness with wide eyes. "Lauren… help me…" The voice called out again through the pitch black corridor in a random direction that the teen could not track causing her to stumble around aimlessly in search of anything. '_Why does that… Is that… Was that Brian's voice?_' The teen guardian pondered as she drew out her katana again, pressing it closely to the front of her body whilst gripping the clothed hilt tightly, the color in her knuckles fading to white.

Lauren strode forward cautiously, katana out in front of her, through the now pitch black corridor toward the source of what she thought was Brian's voice. '_Why would they have Brian down here… unless… they're luring me into a trap by using him…_' The blonde thought as she continued to stroll down the pitch black corridor, ready fro just about anything that could pop out at her. Moments later, her katana made a small tinny scraping noise as it pushed up against a moss and ivy covered stone wall. The blonde had to come to an abrupt stop to avoid cutting herself on her own blade as it came back toward her head. Turning around away from the wall, the turquoise eyed teen spotted a strange, faint glow hovering down the corridor she had just traveled. "Wh… Who's… there?" The blonde guardian queried in a weak, frightened voice, hoping all the while that it was someone that would help her instead of try to kill her. Whatever was glowing down the corridor did not answer, only to disappear seconds later sending shivers down her spine and thoughts of trepidation through the teen's mind.

'_Am I going crazy, or is something hunting me?_' As Lauren contemplated her sanity, the ground below her began to quake violently, throwing her balance off almost enough to send her on her back. Backing up as hastily as she could, the blonde teen got off the section of flooring that was quivering, pressing her back up against the wall behind her. As if it were a trigger, as soon as the teen's back rested flatly against the moss and vine covered wall the flooring in front of her gave way. The fractured fragments of the moss coated stone floor collapsed into a seemingly never ending void of nothingness. With an odd sounding, echoing bellow from within the seemingly never ending void, the shattered wreckage flew forth from the extensive crater. A rather large fragment of solid stone flew right past the turquoise eyed teen's head, smashing into the wall just far enough away from the teen's head to avoid hitting her.

She couldn't see it, but Lauren felt the presence of a rather large demon like creature as it landed loudly on the other side of the hole it had created. Suddenly all the candelabras in the chamber the blonde teen stood in with her back against the wall sparked to life in one fiery roar of life. A pair of blood red eyes cut through the air in between the turquoise eyed teen and whatever loomed ahead of her sending percussions of chills down her spine. The beastly monster had tan skin that bulged up in massive muscles all over its colossal body, making it look like an impermeable wall of muscles. One of its enormously muscular arms ended in a few gnarled tendrils in place of the massive fist at the end of its other arm, jutting out about five feet, dangling in the air like devastating slacked whips. Bits of its apparently rotting tan flesh bleed away off its body, landing on the shattered ground beneath with a barely audible splash. The demonic creature's head was rounded off at the top, had no ears, and appeared to be just as, if not more muscular than the rest of its body. Wedged in the midst of the brawny creature's gut, resided a katana thrust through the entire creatures girth, bursting out its back with a crimson blood soaked tip. The beast cracked a menacing grin with its fanged, yellow teeth, dripping wet with discoloring saliva that worked its way out of its keeper's jaws, splashing on the floor in silent puddles.

Lauren's body froze stiff as well as her min as the demonic creature let out a bone chilling roar, resonating off the moss and vine covered walls in an ongoing percussion of terror. The devilish beast whipped back its left arm, whipping the gnarled tendrils back behind its massive muscular body, poising them to strike its quarry. The blonde teen attempted to make her body move out of the direct path of the monster's left arm, but to no avail, her body was stuck. '_C'mon! Move! If you don't move, you're going to die!_' The turquoise eyed teen screamed in her brain as her hunter followed through with the rest of its movements, putting all the power it could muster into its next attack. The blonde watched in horror as the creature before her brought down its left, tendril ending arm, down upon her with one swift movement. Closing her turquoise eyes tightly, the blonde guardian screamed at herself in her brain to move out of the way of the blow that would most likely kill her. Suddenly, she felt herself lean down to her right, bending her knees slightly whilst shifting her weight onto her right leg in preparation for her next move. With a sudden burst of movement, the teen pushed off of the cracked, moss covered ground with her right leg, propelling her to her left into a side roll.

The crooked tendrils smashed into the tiled flooring and chilled wall where Lauren had been standing only a second before the blow was preformed. The weak ground and wall foundation shattered under the immense power and momentum of the creature's wicked blow sending minute fragments sailing through the air in every direction. The blonde teen shot her turquoise eyes open abruptly to see that her body had in fact moved out of the line of fire and that she was still alive. She let out a short sigh of relief that was cut short as the demonic beast's right arm barreled down upon her clenched in a tight fist with the momentum of an oncoming train. The teen narrowly ducked under the head level blow, allowing it to harmlessly pass over her head, sparing her life once again. The overly muscular fist crashed into the feebly constructed wall constructs, shattering it into a thousand diminutive shards of aged stone whilst also crafting a foot crater in the surface. The back of the blonde guardian's head as well as her back was pelted with the tiny debris from the moss covered wall behind her.

Seeing an opportunity to catch her assailant off guard, Lauren thrust her katana up into the fiend's exceedingly muscular arm that was still poised over her head. The demonic creature's arm flinched a bit, but other than that the blonde's desperate attempt to harm her attacker ended in failure. Yanking its colossal fist free from the stonework of the now broken wall, the beast unclenched its fist as it drew over its quarry's head. With one abrupt jerk of its arm, and closing of its fist, the monster gripped the blonde's head in the palm of its excessively muscular hand tightly, but not quite tight enough to kill her instantly. The teen's turquoise eyes shot wide with the most intense fear she had felt in her life as she attempted to let out a shrill scream of agony that was only muffled by her assailant's fist. She felt herself being lifted off the ground as the pain in her head grew worse from the sudden rush of all her weight being pressured on her head.

Desperately trying to wrench herself free from her captor's firm grip, Lauren began to pound on the beast's wrist with her left fist, her katana in her right. She thrashed her legs about almost as wildly as her arms if not more as she made a series of hacking motions with her right arm, katana in hand. The steel crafted blade sunk into the demonic creature's flesh only about a half inch or so with each of the multiple slicing motions its master made. Deep crimson blood tarnished with a bit of green dripped casually out of the freshly made wounds along the fiend's wrist as it continued to grip the blonde in its clenched fist. The turquoise eyed teen's head began to feel like it was being crushed by an elephant, yet it would not kill her as she continued to thrash about madly in a desperate attempt to free herself. The creature, although keeping an almost deadly grip on the teen's head, never exerted the amount of power it needed to kill her instantly. Instead, the wicked monster let her suffer through one of the most physically painful experiences that you could imagine, your skull being slowly crushed as thoughts run feverishly through your mind.

'_I can't die here! I have to stop Yuna from sacrificing herself for the final aeon! I have to be there for her and everyone else! I have to find someway to rescue Brian and get his memories of me back!_' Lauren thought violently, continuing to thrash about crazily in the merciless, near deadly grip of her assailant's right fist. Feeling her strength dissipating from her body, the blonde teen focused all her strength into her right arm as she dropped it back to her side and a little behind her. With one frantic thrust, the blonde plunged her katana's tip into her captor's muscular fist with a sickening squish that splattered the creature's crimson-green blood on the tile flooring below. She felt the katana's blade slide right past her face, barely avoiding her forehead as the beast's fist abruptly shot open, dropping her to the ground with a softened thud. The blonde guardian hastily regained her composure, standing up whilst taking off in the opposite direction of the friend as fast as her legs would carry her. She whipped herself back around once she thought she was out of any immediate harm to gaze upon the sight of the demonic creature with its bleeding hand.

"That… was too close…" Lauren breathed as the pain in her head leveled out to a dull throbbing that kept her alert, instead of the sharp, unbearable pain that it had been in the grip of the fiend. Seeing that her blow only temporarily distracted her assailant, the blonde teen brought her katana up in front of her, crossing her body from the right side of her waist up over her left shoulder. The demonic creature let out a deep throated, challenging, bellow as it shifted its weight so it was facing the turquoise eyed teen head on. Its blood red eyes pierced the blonde's soul, sending chills down her spine in sporadic bursts, almost causing her lose grip of her katana's clothed hilt. Regaining her composure, the turquoise eyed teen took one vigilant step toward her demonic adversary in front of her causing the beast to do more than stare at her. It let out a devilish bellow resonating off the moss covered chamber walls at an earsplitting volume that caused the teen to almost drop her katana in the rush to cover her ears. The overly muscular creature let out another, softer roar before taking off toward the defenseless blonde guardian in a wild stampede across the fractured, mossy floor tiles.

The tile flooring below Lauren shook violently as her assailant charged her with speeds that she didn't think possible for the massive, muscular creature. Seeing that she could not stand a head on charge from the demonic creature, the blonde teen dove to her right out of the path of the rampaging fiend. As the foul beast passed by, the turquoise eyed teen flung her katana along the creature's left arm with a hasty flick of her right arm from her waist and up out to her right. The overly muscular fiend came to an abrupt halt, sliding along the fractured floor at the slight pain received from its quarry's blade along its left arm. Pivoting on its right leg hurriedly, whipping its tentacle ending left arm in the direction of the blonde guardian, its tendrils whistling through the air. The blonde lashed out against the fiend's thrashing tendrils by bringing her right arm back down from her upper right along her chest. A greenish-tan tentacle plopped to the ground, wriggling about wildly on the shattered ground for a few seconds before coming to a sudden halt sprawled out on the flooring.

The beast let out a mild pained roar as it brought its left arm back away from Lauren, holding it back bent at the elbow facing upwards into the air. The diminutive stub of a tentacle left on the demonic creature's left arm squirmed around madly, squirting out green tainted crimson blood all over the ground and its master. The fiend let an evil grin pass upon its devilish face as the green tainted blood stopped spurting out of the stub of a tentacle as it stopped thrashing about on the end of its left arm. The blonde teen shuddered at the sight of the creature's malevolence as she began to back away from it in a terrified manner. As she felt her back press firmly against the moss covered, vine doted wall, the teen brought her katana up in front of her in a feeble attempt to defend herself. The fearsome beast cocked its right, fisted arm back as it twisted its body to the right, putting more power and momentum behind the blow it was about to deal.

The demonic creature launched its massive muscular, clenched right fist at Lauren at the speed of an oncoming train. The blonde teen rolled forward just barely allowing the beast's arm to pass over her as it smashed into the moss covered wall where its quarry's head rested only a second before. The walls shook violently as the muscular fist bored a crater into the ancient wall tiles as the turquoise eyed teen recovered from her abrupt forward roll to save her life. With a quick thrust of both her arms, the blonde plunged the tip of her katana's blade into the thick, burly flesh of the fiend's right arm as it hovered over her. The creature's right arm twitched slightly as the teen's katana's blade sank through its flesh, popping out the upper side of its arm with a sickening squishing noise. The fearsome beast drew its right arm back as hastily as it could in an attempt to catch its assailant off guard and drag her along with its arm brutally. Unfortunately for the fiend, the blonde guardian yanked her katana out of its muscular right arm just as it began to draw it back towards its body.

The ghastly beast let out a frustrated roar before it brought around its left, tentacle ending arm, back around toward its quarry in yet another attempt to slay its opponent. Lauren dove in at the beast onto her stomach, just narrowly avoiding its massive, muscular arm and its wildly thrashing about tendrils. As if by an instinctual pull, the blonde teen pushed herself up off the ground with her arms and legs back off the ground into a sort of crouching position. With another push of her legs off the ground, she shot up to about neck level, her katana resting in its sheath in a drawing stance, ready to strike at its master's command. The teen hesitated in her next move for a split second as her turquoise eyes met the soulless, blood red eyes of the demonic creature before her. A slight swooshing sound echoed through the battered chamber as the blonde brought her katana out from within the confines of its sheath. Digging into the tan colored flesh of the fiend's neck, the katana slid through it with slight ease severing the creature's head from the rest of its body. Its severed head landed on the ground at the exact same time as the blonde guardian, green tarnished crimson blood spurting out in all directions from the remaining portion of its neck as well as the bottom of the head. The fiend's massive body convulsed a bit before collapsing backward onto the fractured tile flooring below on its back, a pool of greenish-crimson blood forming all around it.

Lauren backed away from the ever growing pool of green tarnished crimson blood until she was about a foot away from the battered, moss and vine coated wall. Suddenly, as the blonde teen let out a sigh of relief, lowering her katana, the decapitated body of her assailant rose from the shattered tile flooring as if nothing had happened. The teen's turquoise eyes shot wide in bemused horror as she watched on at the sight of the fiend she had just decapitated rise from the dead only ten feet from her. The devilish creature stood there in front of the blonde for a few agonizingly long moments before a deep crimson radiance resonated out from the creatures body. The crimson light forced the turquoise eyed guardian to hastily cover her eyes in her elbow from the blinding vivacity growing in front of her rapidly. The teen heard a percussion of sickening sounds erupt from within the crimson glow before feeling a sensation of fear and death wash over her from within the heart of the light. She felt the sensation fade away just as the luminosity trying to pry its way through either side of her elbow dissipated, allowing her to see once more. Removing her arm from her turquoise eyes slowly and cautiously, the blonde's eyes shot wide in horror at the sight of her new adversary standing before her.

The creature that now stood before Lauren was nothing like the demonic beast she had just slain except for the same piercing blood red eyes still stared at her soullessly. The fiend was now a lot smaller than its previous form both in muscle mass and in height; however, it still held a disturbing terrifying feeling that send shivers down the blonde teen's spine. Its skin was now almost armor like, colored crimson as though it were covered in blood instead of the almost decaying appearance of its first form. The blonde's turquoise eyes drifted from the ghastly creature's gut, where a lone katana used to reside, to the blade's new home. The green tarnished, dried crimson blood enveloped blade now rested in the fiend's tightly clenched right fist, portraying a sort of demonic samurai. A pair of twin jet black, gnarled horns jutted out from the creature's forehead, wrapping around themselves in an odd pattern before ending pointed forward. A bone chilling, maniacal grin slipped onto the horrid beast's visage at the sight of the confused and terrified blonde guardian.

Lauren's mind was completely devoid of all thought as she stared on in bemused horror at the newly arisen foul creature standing no more than ten feet in front of her. The demonic beast let its maniacal grin expand even more as it bent its armor plated knees in preparation for its next move against the fear inflicted paralyzed teen. Within a split second, before the blonde guardian noted its movements, the fiend charged her at an almost invisible speed, closing the gap between the two almost instantaneously. Launching its armor spiked knee up at the blonde's stomach, the vile creature came to a sliding halt, allowing its knee to smash into the teen's stomach violently. The devastating blow sent the blonde teen doubling over in intense pain as it sent her sailing back through the air until her lower back slammed into the moss covered wall behind her. As her body stuck the moist stone wall, it unfolded from its doubled over in pain position into a manner that seemed as though she were just a rag doll. The blonde's turquoise eyes shot wide in pain as the back of her head whacked into the moss and vine covered wall in a most brutal fashion.

Pain surged through Lauren's body as she fell from her plastered to the wall position back onto the fractured tile floor she found herself on a lot. Fighting the overpowering feeling of unconsciousness, the blonde teen managed to keep herself from being totally helpless from whatever the horrid creature before her had planned. Slowly pushing herself back up off the broken tile flooring, the blonde gripped the cloth covered hilt of her katana tightly, pulling it up off the ground along with her body. Now standing upright with a slight limp in her posture, the blonde guardian brought her katana up into a sloppy defensive stance as her assailant stood menacingly before her soundly. Cautiously sliding her right foot forward to improve her defensive stance, the blonde winced in pain as her lower back went into a small pain induced spasm, setting her off balance. The demonic creature seemed to be laughing at the turquoise eyed teen's struggle to stand fully upright and in a position to take on its next move. Feeling both frustrated at her body for not wanting to move properly and terrified at the same fact, the teen made one last push to make herself stand in a battle ready position. Her back made a slight cracking sound as she forced herself fully upright and into a defensive stance, relieving some of the pain from her lower back. Now fully prepared for her adversary's next attack, the blonde calmed her mind as she took in a few deep, calming breaths.

The crimson skinned fiend standing before Lauren bent down a bit into a stance that looked as though it was preparing to launch itself at the blonde at break neck speeds. With a disfigured blur, the demonic creature zipped past the blond teen, leaving an afterimage that made it seem to the teen that it was still standing before her instead of having just rocketed past her. All of a sudden the afterimage disappeared as a surge of wind rushed by the turquoise eyed teen as a small warm sensation began to trickle down her right cheek. Placing the fingers on her right hand up to her cheek at the source of the warm feeling, the blonde's turquoise eyes widened in shock as she moved her hand out in front of her face to see what was on her fingers. Warm crimson blood covered her finger tips where they touched the wound on her cheek, opening a new fear within her that caused her to freeze up entirely, transfixed by the blood on her hand. The foul beast spun around, gazing at its handiwork, a wicked smile creeping over its facial features as the blonde guardian continued to stand no more than five feet from the creature.

The demonic creature waited for a few moments as Lauren finally regained her composure, pivoting on her heels to face it before making its next move. With a sudden burst of speed, the vile beast rocketed toward the blonde teen, its right, katana bearing, arm held back and over its head in preparation from a devastating blow that would surely kill the teen if it struck her. Seeing as how she had no way to block the oncoming attack, the blonde guardian hastily sheathed her katana before leaping back into a back flip out of the path of her assailant's attack. A loud cracking sound echoed throughout the now even more so battered chamber as the beast's katana burrowed into the tile flooring with immense momentum. Little bits and pieces of broken up stone tile flew out in all directions from the two feet deep crater that the fiend's blood soaked katana now rested in. The turquoise eyed teen ended her back flip almost with her back against a moss and vine covered wall as fragments of stone hurtled past her. A small, pointed rock smashed into the blonde's right shoulder, almost penetrating her skin whilst causing a sharp intense pain, leaving a sore spot on her shoulder.

Fighting the surges of pain erupting from her right shoulder, Lauren unsheathed her katana, standing firm in a defensive position, gazing at the demonic creature a mere ten feet from her. The beast slowly but surely lifted its katana out of the fractured crater, all the while keeping its blood red, piercing eyes locked onto the teen's turquoise ones. Almost instantaneously, the foul beast seemed to disappear from its spot standing over its carved crater, causing the blonde to glance around franticly for her assailant's whereabouts. Suddenly, as if on cue, the crimson skinned creature popped back into the teen's field of view right in front of her, blood soaked katana poised for a right to left slashing motion. In a frantic act, the turquoise eyed teen shifted her weight toward the direction the blade stoke would come from whilst also twisting her waist so that her katana was poised for defense. The sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the dimly lit chamber as the demonic beast's blow connected with the teen's defensive stance. The blonde felt herself losing her footing as the creature continued to apply pressure to his sword stroke as it grinded against the teen's own katana.

Suddenly, Lauren's footing failed her, and she soon found herself sailing through the air back behind her at a slightly hasty speed. Coming to an abrupt and pain full sliding halt on the tattered ground below her, the blonde teen tried to keep a tight hold on her katana's hilt so that she wouldn't be as defenseless. Crumpling up against the moss and vine covered wall on the other side of the chamber from which she was originally standing, the blonde kept her neck from being snapped from the sheer force of her impact. The turquoise eyed teen slowly pushed herself up off the floor as well as away from the moss covered wall as bolts of pain shot randomly through her body. She arched her back as if a massive amount of pressure was pushing on her lower back or as if something had her by her head and waist and was bending her upper body. She feel back onto the floor as the pain overcame her, clenching her fists tightly as well as grinding her teeth, waiting for the pain to hopefully dissipate. Finally, after a few moments of writhing agony, the devastating pain in the teen's lower back subsided to a dull ache, allowing her to relax the muscles in her body.

'_This is bad_…' Lauren thought as she forced herself up onto her aching legs, intense pain shooting throughout her body in random spurts, crippling her at some points. '_I can't see where it's going to move… and even if I could, I doubt that I would be able to stop it…What am I going to do? I can't die here!_' The demonic creature cracked a sinister grin across its facial features as if it could read every thought floating around in the blonde teen's head. The teen's fear filled turquoise eyes shot around the dimly lit chamber franticly, in search of anything she could use against the beast that stood before her or an escape route. Her eyes fell upon a small alcove n a darkened corner that she had not noticed upon her arrival in the chamber nor did she notice it during her confrontation with her assailant. Something metallic flickered within the veil of shadows that the blonde made out to be some sort of ladder that hopefully led her to somewhere safe and away from the beastly demon. The crimson skinned fiend noted the hint of hope in its quarry's turquoise eyes, following their line of sight back to the shadow enveloped corner. Much to her dismay, the blonde guardian caught the sight of the foul creature's sinister grin catch a hint of a maniacal aura out of the corner of her left eye. The hope fell from the blonde's face as well as faded from her turquoise eyes as she realized that the creature ha seen her gaze off toward the corner with the ladder in it.

'_I gotta at least try!_' Lauren told herself as she still remained motionless staring at the shadow encased corner as well as the demonic creature out of the corner of her left eye. '_If I give up, I won't be able to see Yuna or Rikku, or anybody else… I gotta make it out of here so I can hopefully see... Brian again…I have to save him!_' The blonde continued to pump her mind full of reasons that she had to survive this for, boosting up her confidence and determination in herself. The turquoise eyed teen bent her knees in perpetration for the sprint to the shadowed corner, the crimson skinned fiend preparing itself to intercept its quarry. With a sudden burst of speed, the blonde took off toward the corner where she hoped she could escape, the devilish beast following suit. The teen saw her assailant disappear from its spot where it had remained ever since it struck her with the devastating blow that sent her into the moss covered wall. Focusing her gaze back in front of her from where the ghastly beast stood, the blonde saw it suddenly appear right in her path only about seven feet from her. Hastily coming up with an idea, she dove between the fiend's spread legs as she came within a few feet from the vile creature.

Tumbling under the demonic creature as it tried to bash her with the blood soaked katana, Lauren shot back to her feet right behind the beast, just out of harms way. The ghastly creature followed through with its failed downward slash with a horizontal slash at about chest height as it whirled around to slash the teen across her back. The blood soaked katana whizzed through the air right behind the turquoise eyed teen as she continued to run as fast as she could for the shady corner. The vile beast stumbled for the first time during the whole confrontation, allowing the blonde guardian to reach the corner concealing the chrome ladder. Upon reaching the ladder, the teen began ascending the rungs almost instantaneously until she realized what the ladder led to. A large metal hatch resided in the ceiling of the shadow enveloped corner right above the ladder, preventing anyone or anything from passing through where ever it led to. The blonde franticly glanced around at the hatch, trying to find some way of opening it so she could escape from the deadly beast before it could catch up to her and kill her. Her slender fingers slid all over the hatch, feeling for some type of latch or knob, allowing her to open it up and craw up inside. Her fingers on the right hand came across something that felt like a latch causing her to shift her turquoise eyes onto the source of the feeling. She flipped the latch with ease only to find that there were of the latches, so she undid all of those, allowing the hatch to be opened freely at her own digression.

As she leisurely and vigilantly opened up the thick metallic hatch, Lauren heard a strange sound rushing down the shaft that the hatch led up into. The blonde teen soon realized that the sound she was hearing was rushing water careening down the empty shaft above the ladder. She braced herself for the impact of the rushing water as the demonic creature came bellow the teen, ready to attack her when the water poured out of the shaft. The water cascaded down upon the turquoise eyed teen from out of the hatch, almost knocking her balance on the ladder off. She clung to a single rung with her right hand tightly as the water threatened to knock her off of the ladder and onto the rigid fractured tile flooring. The devilish beast struggled to keep its balance against the raging water bearing down upon it as it suddenly burst forth from the newly opened hatch. The blonde guardian's grasp almost slipped from the rung of the ladder, but she managed to get her right foot up onto another rung to keep herself from being washed away by the wild waters.

The chilled water came to an abrupt halt, leaving only small drips of water and soaked metal and tile flooring alike in its wake. Hastily bringing herself back to reality, Lauren clambered up the slippery ladder and into the shaft above it from which the torrent of water plummeted down upon her only seconds before. The demonic creature had a harder time recovering from the sudden barrage of water than the blonde teen as it attempted to climb up the water soaked ladder. The fiend gripped a high up rung on the ladder with its right fist, only to be denied any right of ascending the ladder when its hand slipped completely off the rung. The beast hit the wet ground below with a loud and splashing thud that sent a small wave of hope surging through the blonde that was trying franticly to climb the ladder before her assailant caught up with her. Finally the turquoise eyed teen made it to the last rung on the ladder, pulling herself up and out of the dripping shaft.

Lauren emerged from the water logged shaft onto a small ledge where about a half inch of water rested a few feet above a water mass that appeared to be twenty feet deep. The blonde shot her turquoise eyes around hastily, trying to figure out where she was and where to go to escape the demonic creature if it could follow her up the ladder in the shaft. A large bridge like structure, much like the one Yuna's and Seymour's wedding was to be held on, only this one was level with no flights of stairs, sat to the teen's right. The ledge she stood on jutted out of the bridge like causeway about halfway up it, leaving about four feet that the blonde teen would have climb up to get out of her current location. A rather loud clambering sound echoed up out of the shaft as the blonde guardian continued to take in her surroundings, planning her next move. The abrupt sound broke the teen's focus on analyzing her surroundings, sending a twang of fear and nervousness throughout her entire being. She hurriedly rushed over to the side of the bridge, climbing up it as fast as she could in complete panic, for she knew if the ghastly beast made it up to the ledge, she was as good as dead. The turquoise eyed teen managed to climb up the side of the bridge like causeway hastily, without much hindering as the raging noise from the climbing beast continued to erupt louder and louder from within the shaft.

Upon getting up onto the bridge like structure, Lauren shot fevered glances down in both directions to see which path would best lead her away from her hunter. One direction seemed to lead out of Bevelle and into a forest that had an odd familiar feeling about it, but the other direction was a different story. The blonde teen found herself staring at the entrance to the city of Bevelle; however, that was not the only thing lingering in that direction. She saw seven figures moving around frantically performing on a larger figure that seemed to float off the ground with another lanky figure resting upon its right shoulder menacingly. Upon further inspection of the seven figures, the blonde realized that they were none other than Yuna and the rest of her friends, yet she could not make out who or what the other figure was that they were combating. The blonde squinted her turquoise eyes in an attempt to identify what all her friends were fighting, as she began to make a move toward her friends before her pursuer could catch her. The teen came to an abrupt halt in her movements, her turquoise eyes going wide in fear and shock, upon finally realizing who all her friend were fighting against. It was Seymour, only he no longer looked like a real person, instead his skin had turned silver, as well as the rest of his body. A large, metallic scorpion like entity rested on the twisted Maester's right shoulder, its long, snake like tail running down the half breed's back.

A sudden roar, along with the sound of something heavy landing on the ground behind her, tore Lauren from her astonished stare, casting her into a state of sheer panic. The blonde teen slowly pivoted on her heel to face the demonic creature, drawing her katana in the process to prevent herself from being caught off guard with it sheathed. Immediately after she turned to face her assailant, it lashed out at her with a furry of blade strokes, flailing in all directions, trying to hit its quarry. The blonde, standing still with fear, snapped herself out of a fear induced paralysis to defend herself from the barrage of sword strokes flying at her. The turquoise eyed teen managed to fend off a few of the randomly placed blade strokes until one slash caught her in the right thigh. A streak of crimson colored blood made itself visible from the upper inner front of her thigh to the opposite side just above her right knee. The blonde guardian took her right hand off of her katana's cloth covered hilt, thrusting it onto the freshly made wound on her thigh, trying to stop the bleeding. The ghastly creature took full advantage of the crippling blow it had dealt, charging right in for another blow that would probably finish off its prey once and for all.

Lauren attempted to take her right hand off her thigh and back onto her katana's hilt to defend herself from her adversary's next attack; however, she was too slow in her action. The demonic creature slammed its blood tarnished katana into the blonde teen's body, but instead of severing her in half, her katana managed to work its way in between the blow and her body, sparing her life. The teen's katana hilt slammed into her stomach by the sheer force of her assailant's stroke, knocking the air out of her lungs violently as well as sending her back onto her back a few feet from where she stood. The vile beast loomed over the downed turquoise eyed teen, blood tarnished katana drew back over its head in a finishing blow manner. A high pitched scream sounded from over where Yuna and the rest of the blonde's friends were, causing her to shoot her head back in that direction, as well as postponing her attacker's killing stroke. The scream was cut off unexpectedly as Seymour lifted Rikku into the air, his long gnarled fingers wrapped around her slender neck, choking her.

"Rikku!" Lauren hollered in a winded voice, for her breath did not fully return to her yet from the devastating blow dealt to her by the demonic creature. The blonde teen attempted to get back upon her feet to go and help her friend, but was stopped by both the crippling pain in her right thigh as well as her adversary's right foot hitting her abdomen. The overwhelming and unexpected strike to the blonde's stomach knocked her back down onto the ground with a softened thud, bashing the back of her head on the floor. She was almost knocked unconscious by the sudden stroke to the head, but something kept her conscious as the pain made its way throughout her entire body, crippling her. As she was being crushed under the commanding force of her assailant's right leg, the turquoise eyed guardian heard Yuna's pleading voice begging someone to save Rikku before Seymour chocked her to death. Something inside the blonde guardian snapped, making her immune now to all the pain coursing through her body as well as to any sounds other that the pleading voice of one of her closest friends. Suddenly, she felt something change within herself, as if something locked away was finally released sending a surge of power and stamina throughout her body.

Violent, vibrant red-orange flames leapt to life inside Lauren's turquoise eyes as once sealed up power surged through her body, giving her the will to fight as well as the strength. The same awe inspiring flames in the blonde's eyes erupted to life around the blade of her katana still residing in her right hand. The demonic creature looming over her slowly let his quarry free as it began to back away from what it knew to be a far superior power. As soon as she could move her right arm, the turquoise eyed teen whipped her burning katana up across her body, severing the leg that held her down from the body of her adversary. The ghastly creature let out a ear splitting shriek of pain, that the blonde didn't even seem to be affected by, as the wild red-orange flames began to engulf its leg. The flames raged up about half of the vile creature's leg before defusing off into the air without any trace of its existence except the smell of burning decayed flesh. The creature collapsed back onto its single remaining leg, trying desperately to keep balance and not become completely defenseless. It gazed down at the blonde guardian with its twin, glowering blood red eyes in anger and frustration that it could not defeat such a seemingly defenseless opponent as she began to rise to her feet defiantly.

Rising vigilantly to her feet, gripping her katana's clothed hilt tightly, Lauren stared down the one legged creature before her with fiery eyes. The blonde swung her right arm, flame enveloped katana falling to the middle of her back, back behind her, twisting her torso slightly to provide more momentum. The demonic creature stared in horror as the turquoise eyed teen brought her right arm back around across her body, spinning on her toes with the motion. The flame embroidered katana sunk into the horrid beast's torso flesh, setting it ablaze in a might roar. The vibrant flames of red-orange did not expand upward, nor did they expand downward from the cut, they just seemed to hover on the cut, motionless, as if time had stopped. As she came out of her spin, the blonde guardian stopped, flipping her katana into her left hand whilst thrusting her right arm up into a bent, out to the side, "halt" position. The flames in her eyes flashed brilliantly for a second as she moved her legs into a bent position, tilting her head in the direction of her right arm. A red-orange aura began to wrap itself around the teen's body before finally focusing it all into the palm of her right hand where it pulsed with a pallid glow momentarily. Everything around her seemed to be stopped as cyclones of red-orange flames came erupting from the sky with a deafening explosive sound.

The first blazing cyclone struck the ground to the demonic creature's left, shattering the bridge like causeway into fiery shards where it struck. As soon as it struck the ground, the twister changed course from its straight route to a curving path, leading directly to the foul beast as it seemed to just stand there unaffected by the chaos whirling around it. The second cyclone slammed right into the ghastly creature's chest, blasting bits of decaying crimson flesh in all directions. The third red-orange flamed twister smashed right into the beast's right kneecap, tearing off its entire leg whilst igniting the creature's waist in the vibrant and violent flames. A fourth one of the overwhelmingly destructive cyclones weaved its way through the air oddly before striking its target right in between the creature's blood red eyes. Its head came clean off from the sheer force behind the fiery twister, the rest of its body being overtaken by flames in a brilliant display. Finally, the first cyclone made its way over to the beast, overtaking it in its red-orange blaze as the final stage of Lauren's destructive attack.

Time seemed to unfreeze, returning to normal, as the red-orange flamed cyclones began to dissipate into thin air. The few random remnants of flesh from the demonic creature were burning rapidly in the fiery flames left in the wake of the four twisters. Lauren's turquoise eyes seemed to be dimmed by fatigue and fear, almost to the point where it looked like she was about to collapse. Instead of giving into her exhaustion, the blonde teen managed to turn herself around to face her next priority, saving Rikku from Seymour's grasp. The blonde adolescent's face was stricken with pain and suffering as the twisted Maester continued to grip her throat tightly in his right hand. A chill, soulless smile was painted all across the half breed's face as he stared into the Al Bhed's swirled emerald eyes with his own gray, colorless ones as he slowly but surely chocked the life out of her. All of her friends just stood there in horror, watching the mentally deranged unsent Maester leisurely murder their friend before their very eyes without doing anything about it. The turquoise eyed teen was the only one that was in the act of doing anything to save her Al Bhed friend from the blue haired half Guado in his demonic looking form. "Rikku! Hold on! I'm coming!" The blonde guardian shouted as she mustered all the strength she had left and charged full tilt, katana drawn out to her side, toward the depraved Maester.

A/N: Alright, I said there were gonna be at least three big battles this chap, but that would result in this chap being REALLY long and it would just take me even longer to write. So, I decided to split up the two chaps. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and until next time, take care all!


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